Lance Potter
Lance Potter is a New Zealand paintball field operator who established Red Alert Paintball Games on Totara Road, Ararimu, Auckland. His contemporary account describes developing the field during 1996 and opening it the following February.[1][2]
Paintball involvement
[edit]Potter's New Zealand Paintball profile, preserved in February 1998, identifies him as a social player and Red Alert's owner and operator. He reported approximately eight years of involvement in paintball, having discovered the sport through a workplace social club game.[2]
He identified establishing Red Alert as his principal paintball achievement.[2]
Red Alert Paintball Games
[edit]Establishment
[edit]In his article Opening a New Paintball Field in New Zealand, Potter traced the project to January 1996, after playing a workplace social game at a Penrose field.[1]
He advertised for land to lease in South Auckland and selected a property on Totara Road, Ararimu. Youngs Airgun Centre subsequently directed him to Paintball Express and its operator, Lukas Kruesi, for equipment and advice.[1]
Potter described preparing a resource-consent application for Franklin Council, including planning, noise and vehicle-access information. His account records a council hearing on 16 December and notification of consent approval on 20 December.[1]
He reported that the field opened on 22 February, following the appeal period. The article's chronology places this opening in 1997. Potter estimated the total establishment cost at approximately NZ$30,000.[1]
Facilities
[edit]The contemporary New Zealand Paintball directory described Red Alert as a hilly field with scrub cover, surrounding paddocks and a small creek. Artificial cover and sandbags were being added to open areas.[3]
The directory stated that the field accommodated 20 players and provided Equalizer semi-automatic rental markers. It named Lance and Michelle Potter as contacts.[3]
Writing
[edit]Potter's account of establishing Red Alert was published on the New Zealand Paintball website. It described finding land, obtaining equipment, preparing the consent application and meeting the conditions imposed before opening.[1]
References
[edit]- Lance Potter — “Opening a New Paintball Field in New Zealand”. New Zealand Paintball website. First-person account of establishing Red Alert Paintball Games; Internet Archive capture dated 4 February 1998.
- New Zealand Paintball — Who's Who: Lance Potter. Contemporary profile identifying Potter as Red Alert's owner and field operator; preserved in a February 1998 Internet Archive capture.
- New Zealand Paintball — Fields, Clubs and Stores. Red Alert Paintball Games listing describing the Ararimu field, capacity, equipment and contacts. Internet Archive capture dated 4 February 1998.