English
In 2022 we will continue our Spielfeldcheck series of articles. In each issue we visit a field for you and make a detailed report in which we inform you about the key data of the fields and the special features of the individual facilities. This time we were guests at the Battleground in Brozek, Poland. Hardly any other paintball field in the German-speaking area has been more about paintball festivals, big games and events in recent years. On site we spoke to field operator Bertl about the current season.
Anyone who has played a Paintball Big Game in recent years should know the Paintball Battleground in Brozek, Poland, only too well. The paintball facility, which now has 22 playing fields, is located directly behind the German-Polish border and has been the starting point for years when it comes to paintball big games, paintball festivals and events. With a whopping 1500 players, Europe's largest paintball events take place here. On a total area of 92 hectares there are not only 22 playing fields, but also an adventure campsite certified by the European Camping Association, a hostel with 150 beds, a large sanitary and shower wing, its own restaurant and recently even a sauna area. If that's not enough for you, you can use a free shuttle service to the playing field's own bathing lake with volleyball court and beach bar during the events. It just doesn't get any more fun than that! We meet Bertl at the registration desk in the main building. A cheerful “Servus!” resounds from afar. As always, Bertl is in a good mood. He can be too, because his first events for the 2022 season are already sold out. "The events in May are practically all closed already," explains Bertl Stolz. That wasn't always the case recently due to Corona. Despite all its popularity, the Battleground, with its numerous series of events, has had a hard time struggling over the past two years. As an operator, you are all the happier with a full booking calendar.
PBS Magazin: Bertl, thank you for letting us be here today. First of all, show us the system. We heard that you are currently working on several new pitches that should be ready for the start of the season. What can visitors look forward to this year?
Bertl: Yes, we are currently expanding the system massively. In addition to the start of operations at our adventure campsite, the paintball area was also expanded with 4 new game maps, the TUBES field, a speedball field with huge concrete tubes, as well as the new Pipeline field with original German railway transport wagons and the finally completed Battleround, a large field measuring 80x160m and 24 sea containers complete the range of topics. Existing maps have also been expanded again and last but not least we are currently working on the First Strike Magfed World with a huge bunker building in the middle of the field. It is a former underground factory building, which is now being used for paintball and magfed paintball.
PBS Magazin: Wow, that sounds exciting, but also like a lot of work. How many people do you employ here in the field? So who builds all this in such a short time?
Bertl: Our permanent crew consists of 13 employees, the conversions are also implemented by our event crew, who meet regularly on construction weekends at the facility. This currently consists of about 30 employees who prepare our facility and the events accordingly.
PBS Magazine: Let's move on to the current season. The event calendar (see page 11) is extremely full this year. The first SBG is coming up. The title is called "Termination". If you look at the cover, you immediately think of the futuristic sci-fi thriller "The Terminator". What can the players imagine and what can they expect at this event?
Bertl: That's right, that's part of our philosophy. Our goal is to prepare the events thematically in order to offer more variety and always a new "adventure". The facility, stage and event camp are then designed to match the theme and of course the missions are then implemented accordingly. At Termination, guests can look forward to in-game Terminators to be eliminated and a Terminator Factory to be conquered. In addition, of course, to appropriate crew outfits, stage decoration and a suitable supporting program. In addition, we then implement the topic in a gigantic electro party with AKA AKA on stage. At the end on Saturday evening. It is very important to us that the SBG is not perceived as a normal paintball event but as a festival. I started with this idea and this combination of festival and paintball makes the SBG so unique and successful.
PBS Magazin: In addition to the SBG, you also launched a completely new event this year, the so-called Euro Super Game. This is a MagFed only event for players with magazine loaded guns, did we get that right? Please tell us a little bit about the Euro Super Game so that the players understand a little better what that is and what they can expect at this event.
Bertl: Right, a completely new concept that we felt was long overdue. The ESG on Ascension Day will be the largest magfed paintball event in the world. Together with First Strike, we now want to implement the paintball festival theme as a pure Magfed event and will combine the Biggame and Magfed terrain to create a huge field. Armored vehicles and the full infrastructure will then only be available for magazine players on this field. With 1000 players, this is the largest event of its kind in the world and we expect guests from all regions of the world.
PBS Magazin: Thanks for all the info. In any case, we wish you every success with the new event and of course we hope that it will go into series production. The paintball scene can always use good major events. Would you like to tell us what else is planned for you? The Battleground has been growing for years and you as the operator are constantly thinking up new events and scenarios for the visitors. Might we get a little spoiler on the future events or other changes that are planned?
Bertl: Within the scene, the Battleground is primarily known as an event location. In reality, this is just one pillar of our business. First and foremost, the Battleground is an amusement park for paintball, airsoft and laser tag. As the largest facility in Europe, we welcome bachelor parties every weekend as well as rental equipment and recreational players who simply want to take a break from everyday life. As already mentioned, you can also rent equipment from us, celebrate together in our discotheque or in the restaurant and also stay overnight. In this context, we are getting more new rental equipment from Planet Eclipse and are offering new game modes for our day and weekend guests.
With 22 pitches, there are no waiting times or bottlenecks. What is particularly important for us this year is the opening of the adventure campsite with 80 pitches. So you can holiday with us all summer long. From bunker tours to bathing lakes to paintball games, it definitely never gets boring with us. In this context, we also built a beach volleyball court and a fitness and wellness area. Since we are in Poland, right behind the German border, kids from the age of 12 can also play with the "big ones" here, so that the Battleground has also become a great place for families.
We are already planning the next attractions for 2023, another new playing field is to be built and other leisure attractions besides paintball are also being planned in order to make the offer more varied and extensive, where you can simply take a break from everyday life.
PBS Magazin: Bertl, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and also for the wealth of information. We had a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the Big Game season 2022. It can only be awesome. See you next time.
That was our visit to the Paintball Battleground. As you can see, there is a lot going on here again this year. Hartmut, the owner, as well as Bertl and the entire battle-ground crew ensure a mega paintball big game season with lots of fun and action. In any case, we can hardly wait for it to finally start.
If you don't yet have a ticket for the SBG in September or one of the other events, then it's best to visit the Battleground website and secure one of the coveted event tickets there. As always, they are sold out quickly… In any case, we wish you a lot of fun for the upcoming Big Game season and lots of exciting games.
