Paintball entrepreneur looks to Falls

Indoor facility proposed for former movie theater

By PETER MALLER of the Journal Sentinel staff

Thursday, July 25, 2002

Menomonee Falls -- After plans for an indoor paintball center got shot down by Mequon, the project's backers are aiming to open a 22,000-square-foot game park in the village.

Jeff Thompson, a partner in Virtual Magic who wants to convert the former Main Street Cinema into a paintball playground, said village zoning rules seem to favor his type of businesses.

"This is our next big step," said Thompson, owner of a Mequon- based computer and Internet center that also sells paintball equipment. "We feel that an indoor field is the way to make this business grow."

Thompson said that if the Menomonee Falls deal proceeds, he will close his shop in Mequon and consolidate all of his enterprises under one roof.

The Mequon Planning Commission rejected Thompson's paintball center following a July 1 public hearing. His plan was voted down after several business owners near the proposed facility expressed fears that paintballers might vandalize their properties.

"They just didn't want us there," said Thompson, who grew up in Mequon and opened his business there six years ago. "That was the bottom line."

Robyn Turtenwald, director of the Menomonee Falls Business Improvement District, said a paintball center could be a nice fit for the community. While children played, parents could spend time shopping in the nearby downtown retail district, she said.

"I feel that the kids in this town and in the surrounding communities need a place to go, and this sounds like a great idea," Turtenwald said. "If it's well run, and if it doesn't become a become a hangout, I think it's totally awesome."

Village President Joe Greco said he was open to considering any new business ideas but it was still too soon to comment on indoor paintball.

"We have to wait and see what they are proposing," Greco said.

Thompson said he reviewed village zoning regulations for the building, which list such recreational uses as pool halls, bowling alleys, health clubs, ice rinks, indoor firearm ranges and similar businesses.

"We believe our use would be an allowed conditional use," Thomson said.

Thompson and his partner, Dan Hurda, haven't formally presented their plan to the village. They are still waiting to learn whether Marcus Corp., which owns the building at N88-W15377 Main St., wants to sell the property.

Wisconsin has numerous outdoor paintball parks, but only two -- Paintball Dave's in Milwaukee and Milwaukee Paintball in Germantown - - are based indoors, Thompson said. Meanwhile, the sport has already started to move indoors on the East and West coasts, he said.

"The problem is that we're in the Midwest, and like everything else, we're behind by about 10 years," Thompson said.

Paintball has gone mainstream, he said. Once associated with war games, the sport is now a hit with human resources directors at large companies. They book games for employees to learn team-building skills, said Thompson, who expects 60% to 70% of his business to come from corporate clients.

Thompson also will market the center to area white-collar workers.

"You have a lot of people who come home from work and they just have an hour or two to unwind," he said. "Paintball is a perfect activity for that kind of schedule."

The cost of an average paintball outing, usually four hours, is about $44, including renting equipment and ammunition. People who own their own paintball guns, known as "markers," and their own protective gear can expect to pay less, Thompson said.

He expects to convert three of the building's five movie theaters into one large paintball field. The other two theaters would become a field for a smaller group, he said. The building's lobby would be used as a retail store for paintball equipment and game and hobby products.

"This is pretty much a short-term goal for us, to grow our business to the next level," Thompson said. "We're planning to be there for the next 10 years. My goal is pretty much to put together multiple outlets that are above the standards we don't normally see in the paintball and game store industries."

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