LLC extreme animated paintball 25002884 | Government Grant Application

LLC extreme animated paintball | Application Preview

1. PROJECT COVER INFORMATION

Project Title: Extreme Animated Paintball: Cottonwood Indoor Paintball Field and Pro Shop Development Project

Applicant Organization: LLC Extreme Animated Paintball

Project Director / PI: Owner-Operator (Project Director): Applicant (11 years paintball industry experience; 26-year fire service veteran; 6-year U.S. Air Force veteran)

Contact Information: Cottonwood Area, Arizona (exact street address pending site acquisition)

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / ABSTRACT (1/2-1 page)

Problem / Need: The Cottonwood, Arizona area currently lacks a local paintball facility and dedicated paintball retail shop, despite demand from residents across Cottonwood and nearby towns within an easy driving radius. Without a local field and pro shop, customers must either travel longer distances, rely on limited retail availability for safety equipment and supplies, or miss out on the sport entirely. This leaves a gap in recreation options for youth, families, and adult participants, and also limits local business activity tied to weekend recreation and group events.

Target Population / Sector: The project serves local residents of Cottonwood and surrounding communities within approximately 25 minutes, including youth and adults seeking safe, supervised recreation; families; school and community groups; veterans and first responders; tourists visiting the Verde Valley area; and local employers seeking team-building activities.

Proposed Solution: LLC Extreme Animated Paintball will establish an indoor paintball field paired with an adjacent paintball pro shop in the Cottonwood area. The indoor model provides year-round, weather-resilient recreation and enables consistent operating hours, structured bookings, and predictable revenue. The pro shop will provide essential safety gear, paint, air/CO2 services as applicable, rentals, and accessories, improving safe participation and keeping spending local.

Key Activities: - Acquire and build out a suitable commercial space to operate an indoor paintball arena and connected retail pro shop in Cottonwood, Arizona. - Purchase and install core field infrastructure and safety systems (netting, barriers, chronograph station, protective equipment, signage, waiver and safety processes). - Launch operations focused on drop-in play, memberships, birthday parties, leagues, tournaments, and private events, with retail sales supporting customer readiness and repeat participation.

Expected Outcomes: - A new recreation destination in Cottonwood that provides a safe, structured, and supervised indoor paintball experience with on-site retail support. - Local economic benefits through job creation, increased weekend traffic to the area, and retention of recreation spending that currently leaves the community. - A scalable platform for expansion into an outdoor field development plan within five years, ultimately targeting multiple outdoor fields on a 16-acre parcel under consideration.

Funding Request & Duration: Grant funds are requested to support acquisition of the space and initial build-out needed to open the indoor field and pro shop, enabling near-term launch and year-round operations.

3. STATEMENT OF NEED / PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem Description: Cottonwood and the surrounding Verde Valley region lack a dedicated local paintball field and retail storefront, creating a service desert for an established recreational sport. Paintball participation depends heavily on access to safe playing environments, trained staff oversight, and reliable supplies. When a community does not have these resources locally, potential customers are less likely to participate, and those who do participate face higher travel costs and reduced frequency of play.

Who Is Affected: The absence of a local facility affects residents of Cottonwood and surrounding towns within roughly a 25-minute drive. This includes teens and young adults looking for structured weekend activities, families seeking safe group entertainment, community organizations planning events, tourists seeking indoor activities, and adults interested in competitive play, league participation, or skill development.

Current Gaps: There is currently no direct competitor in the Cottonwood area of Arizona offering an indoor paintball field and a co-located pro shop. This means no centralized, safety-focused entry point for new players and no consistent local access to paintball equipment, rentals, and supplies. The result is suppressed local demand and missed economic activity.

Consequences if Unaddressed: If the gap remains, residents will continue to travel out of area or avoid participation altogether, limiting recreation choices and missing opportunities for constructive, supervised activities for youth and adults. The area also loses potential commerce from parties, group bookings, and repeat retail purchases that typically accompany a thriving paintball venue.

4. PROJECT GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Overall Goal: Establish a sustainable indoor paintball field and adjacent pro shop in Cottonwood, Arizona that expands safe recreation access, supports local economic activity, and provides a scalable foundation for outdoor field expansion within five years.

Specific Objectives (SMART):

Objective 1: By the end of the initial launch period following funding and site acquisition, the business will open and operate a compliant indoor paintball field and pro shop in Cottonwood, providing scheduled public hours and private booking options on a weekly basis.

Objective 2: Within the first year of operations, the facility will establish recurring customer participation through structured offerings such as memberships, leagues, party packages, and group events, increasing repeat visits and stabilizing revenue across seasons.

Objective 3: By year five, the business will be positioned to expand into outdoor play on a 16-acre site under consideration, with the goal of developing multiple outdoor fields (up to 10 or more over time) as demand and capital allow.

5. PROJECT DESCRIPTION / PROGRAM NARRATIVE

Project Overview: The project will create a two-part, mutually reinforcing operation: (1) an indoor paintball arena designed for safe, fast-paced play with flexible field layouts, and (2) a paintball pro shop located near or connected to the field to support rentals, safety gear, consumables, and equipment needs. The indoor format supports year-round activity, reduces weather disruptions, and increases the ability to host scheduled events such as parties, leagues, and private rentals.

Approach / Strategy: Indoor paintball facilities are typically successful when they combine consistent access (predictable hours and weather-proof play) with strong safety standards and an on-site retail component that supports player readiness. The co-located pro shop improves customer experience, increases revenue per visit, and encourages repeat participation by making it easy to replace consumables and upgrade equipment. The business will prioritize safety protocols and customer service, leveraging the owner’s extensive experience in both paintball operations and public safety.

Key Activities: - Secure the targeted indoor space, complete any required tenant improvements/build-out, and set up the arena and retail area. - Establish standard operating procedures focused on safety and customer experience, including required waivers, safety briefings, protective gear requirements, and equipment checks. - Launch marketing and community outreach to drive bookings, including birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette events, corporate team-building, youth groups, and local leagues.

Innovation / Best Practices Used: The model emphasizes a year-round indoor facility that reduces seasonality and weather-related downtime. The project will apply standard paintball best practices such as controlled chronographing for marker velocity, mandatory mask rules, netted safety zones, referee oversight, and structured game formats that improve fairness and safety. A pro shop located next to the field supports proper gear fit, safety compliance, and equipment maintenance.

Alignment with Grant Priorities: This project aligns with common economic development and small business support priorities by creating a new local recreation service where none currently exists, generating local jobs, supporting tourism and weekend commerce, and expanding family-friendly and youth-accessible activities. It also supports community well-being by providing structured recreation and supervised events.

6. METHODS / WORK PLAN

Implementation Steps:

Phase 1 - Setup Space acquisition and site planning, including layout design for the indoor field, safety zones, retail footprint, storage, and customer check-in. Procurement of essential infrastructure (barriers/bunkers, netting, protective equipment, rental markers where applicable, point-of-sale systems, and signage). Development of operating procedures for safety briefings, referee oversight, waiver collection, and equipment inspection.

Phase 2 - Execution Build-out and installation of field and shop components, setup of inventory and retail operations, staff onboarding and training, and soft-launch testing to validate safety flow, customer throughput, and booking processes. Initial marketing push focused on local residents and nearby towns, emphasizing that Cottonwood will have its first dedicated paintball venue.

Phase 3 - Delivery Grand opening and ongoing operations with weekly public sessions and private bookings. Continued community outreach to schools, local organizations, and employers, plus scheduling of leagues and special events to drive repeat participation.

7. TARGET POPULATION / BENEFICIARIES

Who Will Be Served: Residents of Cottonwood and surrounding towns within approximately a 25-minute drive, including first-time players, returning enthusiasts, families, teens, adults, and organized groups. The facility will also attract visitors to the region who seek indoor entertainment options.

Recruitment / Access Method: Customers will be reached through local advertising, partnerships with community groups and event planners, social media and local business directories, and direct outreach to organizations that commonly book group activities (youth programs, churches, schools, and employers). The co-located retail store increases accessibility for new players by providing rentals, masks, and supplies on-site.

9. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY

Relevant Experience: The owner brings 11 years of paintball business experience, which supports informed decision-making around field operations, retail selection, customer service, and safe play management. In addition, the owner is a 26-year veteran of the fire department and a 6-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, reflecting a career foundation in safety, discipline, risk management, training, and public-facing service. This combination is highly relevant to a recreation venue where safety procedures and consistent supervision are essential.

Systems & Infrastructure: The business model is designed with clear operational systems: controlled entry and check-in, waiver management, safety briefings, referee-led games, equipment checks, and a pro shop inventory system to track consumables and rentals. Indoor operations also allow predictable staffing and scheduling, supporting consistent customer experience and revenue stability.

10. STAFFING PLAN / KEY PERSONNEL

Role, Qualifications: Owner-Operator/General Manager: 11 years paintball business experience; extensive public safety and military background. Responsibilities include overall management, safety oversight, vendor relationships, purchasing and inventory control, training, marketing direction, and customer experience standards.

Staff Responsibilities: Staffing will center on referees/game marshals to supervise play, enforce safety rules, and run game formats, plus retail/customer service coverage for check-in, rentals, and sales. As demand grows, staffing can scale to include additional referees, a lead retail associate, and part-time event support.

11. EVALUATION PLAN

Success Measures: Operational readiness (facility opened and compliant with safety procedures), customer utilization (bookings, repeat visits, membership/leagues participation), financial performance (retail sales and field revenue stability), and customer satisfaction (reviews, surveys, repeat bookings).

Data Collection Methods: Sales and booking system reports, customer count tracking, basic customer feedback surveys, incident and safety logs, and marketing performance metrics (inquiries, conversion rates, group bookings).

Reporting Frequency: Monthly internal performance review with quarterly summaries suitable for grant reporting, focusing on openings achieved, utilization trends, and milestones toward year-five outdoor expansion planning.

12. BUDGET SUMMARY

Budget Summary: Grant funds will be used primarily for acquisition of the indoor space and the initial build-out needed to open an indoor paintball field and adjacent pro shop. Costs typically include facility acquisition-related expenses, construction/tenant improvements, safety infrastructure (netting, barriers, signage), initial equipment and rentals, point-of-sale and booking systems, and initial retail inventory to support safe participation and ongoing operations.

13. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION (NARRATIVE)

Equipment and Facility: An indoor paintball field requires specialized safety and operational infrastructure, including protected staging areas, safety netting, field obstacles, and equipment controls that support safe play and efficient customer flow. The pro shop requires retail fixtures, inventory storage, and a sales system. These purchases are essential to launch operations, meet customer expectations, and support a professional, supervised environment.

Supplies: Consumable and operational supplies include protective gear maintenance items, cleaning supplies, signage, waiver materials, and retail inventory such as paint and commonly used accessories. Stocking these supplies locally is central to customer accessibility and revenue sustainability.

14. SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

Post-Grant Funding Strategy: The business will sustain operations through diversified revenue streams: field entry fees, private event packages, memberships, league fees, rentals, and on-site retail sales. Indoor operations support stability by reducing weather-related closures, allowing consistent weekly scheduling and reliable group bookings.

Revenue or Cost Recovery: The co-located pro shop improves cost recovery by capturing sales that naturally accompany paintball play, including paint, protective equipment, accessories, and replacements. Private events (birthdays, corporate team-building, group parties) are typically higher-margin offerings that support steady cash flow and can be booked in advance.

Growth and Expansion: Within five years, the business plans to expand into outdoor offerings on a 16-acre site under consideration, with the long-term goal of developing multiple outdoor fields. The indoor facility acts as the entry point and customer base builder, supporting demand generation and providing proof of operations that strengthen future financing opportunities.

15. RISK MANAGEMENT

Key Risks: The main operational risks include safety incidents inherent to action sports, build-out or permitting delays, and demand variability during the early ramp-up period.

Mitigation Strategies: Risk is mitigated through strict safety protocols, trained referees, enforced protective equipment standards, controlled marker velocity checks, clear signage and safety briefings, and disciplined incident reporting. The owner’s extensive public safety and military experience strengthens operational discipline and emergency readiness. Demand risk is reduced by operating indoors year-round, offering both drop-in sessions and pre-booked private events, and serving multiple nearby towns with no direct local competitor in the Cottonwood area.

• General Information

  Business Registration Number: 25002884

  Location: Camp Verde, Arizona, United States

  Length of Operation: 1-5

  Number of Employees: 11-25 Employees

  Annual Gross Income: $250k to $500k

  Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k

  Open to Loans: YES

• Funding Usage

  To buy the space i.m looking at to open an indoor paintball field and a paintball shop near the indoor field

• Business Plan

  Paintball is a vary profitable business and the location that i.m going to open the paintball shop and indoor field is a location that has no paintball fields in the area and three towns that are with in a 25 minutes drive to the location and a lot of people I have talked to love the idea of a paintball shop and indoor field in the Cottonwood area of Arizona in the next 5 years of operations i will be able to open an outdoor field and make a lot of fun for the people to injoy upto 10 of more outdoor fields on a 16 acre space i.m looking to get I all ready have 11 years of experience in the paintball business and i.m all so a 26 year veteran in the fire department and a 6 year veteran in the u.s. air force. Thank you for your time.

• Self Identified Competition

  There are no competitors in the Cottonwood area of Arizona I have 11 yours of experience all ready in the paintball business

• Contact Applicant

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