Area's first indoor paintball arena eyes Lake Zurich site

A proposal for what may be the area's first indoor paintball arena goes before the Lake Zurich plan commission in January.

The Lake Zurich village board recently did a courtesy review of the proposal, which calls for an 18,000-square-foot arena at 143 W. Main St. near the Route 22 intersection just outside downtown. Such a facility would likely draw an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 patrons from Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kenosha counties, said Keith Desmet, owner of Panik Attack Productions Paintball of McHenry.

"Our target audience is anyone that wants to come and play," Desmet said. "We want to cater to the public and to private and corporate outings."

Corporate paintball outings are an $8 billion market, he added.

The facility would house three fields, two for speed ball and one scenario field, a pro shop for paintball equipment and attire, tech shop, and concession stand.

The owners would lease space in an existing building on-site that is home to a batting cage, fitness and baseball instruction business.

Desmet got the idea of starting up a paintball business, his third enterprise venture, after trying the game for the first time last August.

He said he chose Lake Zurich as the location because he grew up nearby in Wauconda and likes the area.

Though a few outdoor paintball fields have failed in Illinois, the sport is gaining popularity, said Desmet's business partner Hunter Schultz, who owns Hunter Paintball store in Crystal Lake.

Schultz claims paintball is the third fastest growing extreme sport in the country after inline skating and BMX biking. A Google search reveals that arbitrary ranking varies depending on the source.

"There's nothing within about an hour and a half," Schultz said. "The nearest indoor one is Chicagoland Paintball. That's in Glenwood. The only other one is up in Wisconsin. The area needs some more activities. The thing I love about paintball is anybody can do it."

Anyone 12 years or older could use the facility, which would be indoor only and operate six days a week. Tournaments would not be permitted.

Village Trustee Steve McAvoy wasn't thrilled about the proposal.

"I don't think we should be promoting this," he said at a recent meeting. "I think it's a negative image. It promotes aggressive behavior and I don't like where that's going."