Editing Badlandz Paintball Field (section)

=== NPPL Chicago Open ===

Badlandz became closely associated with the Chicago Open, one of the principal tournaments on the American professional paintball calendar during the 1990s.

The venue hosted the 1998 NPPL Chicago Open, which featured woodland, [[Hyperball]] and inflatable-bunker fields.

Contemporary [[WARPIG]] reporting identified Renick Miller as the tournament promoter and documented the participation of established professional teams, including [[Bob Long's Ironmen]], All Americans and Revolution.[3]

The Chicago Open returned to Badlandz in subsequent seasons.

For the 2000 edition, held from 21 to 25 June, the facility added a second Hyperball field alongside its existing woodland and inflatable-bunker playing areas.[5]

The 2001 tournament took place from 20 to 24 June.

That year, Badlandz introduced a third Hyperball field and improved spectator safety infrastructure, including new netting and protected access routes between fields.

[[Chicago Aftershock]] continued using Badlandz as its home training facility.[2]

The venue also hosted the 2002 Chicago Open, when the tournament operated entirely on constructed concept fields rather than woodland playing areas.[6]