MARCH 2002
By Kirk Jacobs

An expedition to the North Shore of Southeast Louisiana yields a jewel for speedball and rec-ball enthusiasts. It was Easter weekend and I was visiting family just about 25 miles north of New Orleans. I had some time to kill, so I decided to investigate the paintball scene. I checked the yellow pages and the only field open was a place called Paintball Command. The girl on the phone was real polite and gave me directions to the field. I found it tucked back in the piney woods near Abita Springs. It was easy to find, just off I-12, 1 ½ miles north on Highway 59 North, left on Emile Strain Road and follow the signs. Brock Miller of Hook and Shoot Outdoors, a local paintball shop, recommended PBC and said, "that's the place everyone is talking about." 

When I arrived, I saw plenty of reasons why there was a buzz around town about PBC. As I walked towards the field, the first thing I noticed was the twenty-foot nets surrounding the area. Their storage buildings were two mobile homes almost surrounded by the netting. You could see a large portion of the field from the staging area. The first trailer was the registration area with computer kept records and a credit card machine, pretty convenient. The second trailer is where you pick up your rentals, paint and get air fills. There were lots of tables in the staging area and as I said earlier, it's enclosed with netting on both sides which allows for the viewing of games on the fast-action concept field and some of the large scenario field. I was told the fast-action field is popular with nervous parents because of the ability to watch their child's first game.

I met the owners, Charlie Segrave and Don Prieto. Both are businessmen from different backgrounds. Charlie comes from an engineering background and Don is in the construction business. They were both very eager to tell me about their field. Charlie said
the field covers about 40 acres and he provided me with a map complete with landmarks, trails, and a grid to pinpoint my location. The standard rental packages are $22.00 dollars and you can rent just about everything from gloves, packs, to neck protectors. Paint prices were reasonable at $70 bucks per case for standard grade and $80 dollars for premium grade. Field paint is Diablo, Midnight and Blaze. They also fill 3000 and 4500 psi high pressure tanks.

WARZONE SPORTS WEBSITE

Click HERE

After checking out their facilities, I would have figured them to have been open at least a year. I was surprised to learn they had only been open since November, about five months. The field sure had a mature look about it. Safety was the order of the day for these guys. Signage was posted everywhere and they maintain a staff of six referees with radios to enforce rules and keep order. 

Finally, I started touring the field. The area where the beginners have their first game is slightly misleading. It was a challenging mix of cross-bunkers, forts, spools, and two boat hulls for that good old Louisiana "stranded in the bayou" feeling. It was well designed for a 2 ½ acre field. As I watched a game, I noticed the players seemed pretty schooled in the sport of paintball. A lot of the players were showing good paintball posture throughout the game. 

I proceeded on to tour the rest of the field. It was evident that a lot of time had been invested into laying out the outer portions of the grounds. PBC features many buildings and bunkers all over the property as well as a concept fort called the flaming castle. Don said that they also have had the privilege of hosting a scenario game in the short time since they've been open.

I decided to check out the area of my personal interest, speedball. PBC has two speedball fields which encompass about 4 acres of the field, complete with lights for night games. The field I liked the most was the plastic pallet field or as some refer to as the "lego field." It was roughly a ten-player size field laid out really nice, four rows on each side and a center row with the flag station. Don said they should be adding Ultimate Air soon. I talked to some of the players and as it turns out, most had played in the Mardi Gras Open this year. I bet a team could find some good competition here. Distorted is the home team of PBC. Drew Bell, Brit Simpson, KB Barton were among some of the players I spotted slingin' some paint on the "lego field." Almost all of them had played in the Mardi Gras Open.

As we say in Texas, I had to git. Before I left, I was thinking, these guys really seem to have a firm grasp on the concept of a complete paintball field. This entire field was ultra sweet and I wanted to play sooo bad, but I was on a family trip and I left my marker at home in Texas, (wouldn't you know it.) WZS