Lock N Load Paintball

Lock N Load Paintball (also styled Lock'n'Load Paintball) was an outdoor paintball facility located at 46 Nixon Road, near Auckland Airport in Māngere, Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 2011, the venue combined recreational scenario paintball with facilities for competitive speedball.

Lock N Load operated nine themed playing fields, including environments inspired by the Second World War, the American West, science fiction and urban combat. It was associated with Auckland's competitive paintball community, including the South Auckland Paintball Club (SAPC).

The business was subsequently rebranded as Lock n Load Adventures, expanding its activities to include archery, arrow tag and other outdoor recreational games. The venue has since been reported as permanently closed, although its precise closure date has not been established.[1]

History

Establishment in 2011

Lock N Load Paintball was developed in 2011 on Nixon Road, within the Auckland Airport business district.

On 28 April 2011, Auckland Airport announced the development of a new paintball facility next to JK's World of Golf driving range. The proposed venue was expected to open in August and initially included plans for ten different scenario fields and facilities for competitive speedball.[2]

The project formed part of Auckland Airport's efforts to expand the recreational activities available within its business district.

Auckland Airport business development manager Sean Thompson identified the paintball park as a potential attraction for airport visitors, local workers, corporate groups and recreational players.

The original concept included themed fields based on Custer's Last Stand, a UFO landing, the Normandy landings, the Mad Max films and jungle warfare during the Vietnam War.[2]

On 28 October 2011, Auckland Airport published a further announcement confirming the arrival of the completed LocknLoad Paintball facility.[3]

The completed park was advertised as having nine different playing fields, including urban, jungle, military and science-fiction environments. The announcement also confirmed the availability of speedball fields for competitive teams.

A New Zealand business directory subsequently recorded 2011 as the venue's establishment year.[4]

Early operation

Lock N Load's early operations focused on combining themed recreational paintball with facilities suitable for experienced players.

The venue advertised itself as being operated by people with extensive experience in the paintball industry, with staff backgrounds in sport, outdoor recreation and event management.

An entry dated 19 April 2012 in the international WARPIG paintball field directory listed Lock N Load at 46 Nixon Road, Auckland Airport.[5]

The listing identified facilities including wooded and concept playing fields, semi-automatic rental markers, carbon dioxide and 3,000 psi compressed-air filling, sheltered staging areas, food facilities, parking and permanent restrooms.

The original contact details were:

Address: 46 Nixon Road, Auckland Airport, Auckland 2022
Telephone: 09 257 2265
Website: locknloadpaintball.co.nz
Email: info@locknloadpaintball.co.nz

The WARPIG entry specifically identified the venue as an outdoor paintball facility near Auckland International Airport.

Lock N Load operated within the Auckland recreational paintball market while also providing facilities for experienced tournament players and organised team activities.

Development during the 2010s

During the 2010s, Lock N Load continued operating as a commercial paintball park, offering birthday parties, corporate activities, private games and recreational paintball.

A July 2016 feature published by Now to Love described the venue's synthetic all-weather playing surface and low-impact paintball activities for children.[6]

The article also described the availability of group activities, including birthday parties, stag events and corporate outings.

The development of low-impact paintball enabled the park to cater to younger recreational participants alongside conventional paintball customers.

Later tourism listings continued to advertise the facility's nine playing fields, compressed-air-powered rental equipment and proximity to Auckland Airport.[7]

Rebranding as Lock n Load Adventures

The business subsequently adopted the name Lock n Load Adventures.

A later business description explicitly identified Lock n Load Adventures as the successor brand to Lock N Load Paintball, explaining that the new name reflected a broader range of outdoor activities.[8]

These included:

Paintball
Archery
Arrow Tag
Low-impact paintball
Other outdoor recreational games

The rebranding broadened the business beyond paintball while retaining the Nixon Road venue.

Advertising from June 2018 used the Lock n Load Adventures name and continued to promote the park's nine themed paintball fields.[9]

Later descriptions also included combat laser tag among the activities associated with the adventure park.[10]

The exact date of the rebranding has not been established.

Closure

Lock n Load Adventures continued to appear in tourism and attraction directories under its original Nixon Road address.

Tripadvisor subsequently marked the attraction as permanently closed.[1]

The listing does not establish the date on which the venue ceased operating, and the presence of older business directory listings should not be taken as evidence of current operation.

Playing fields

Lock N Load was developed around themed outdoor playing environments.

The original Auckland Airport announcements described military, jungle, science-fiction and urban game zones. The completed facility was advertised with nine playing fields in October 2011.[3]

Later descriptions identified individual field names and themes.

Deadwood

Deadwood was a Western-themed playing field designed to resemble a frontier town.

The environment formed part of the venue's range of constructed scenario fields, which used themed structures to create distinct playing areas.[7]

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead was a graveyard-themed paintball field.

The field incorporated cemetery-inspired scenery and obstacles, including gravestones, and was advertised as one of the park's principal recreational environments.[7]

Mad Max

Mad Max was an urban wasteland-themed playing field, drawing inspiration from the post-apocalyptic Mad Max films.

The field was part of the original 2011 development concept and remained among the themed environments advertised in later years.[2][7]

D-Day Landing

D-Day Landing was a military-themed field inspired by the Allied landings in Normandy during the Second World War.

The theme appeared in the original Auckland Airport development announcement and continued to feature in later park descriptions.[2][7]

Area 51

Area 51 was a science-fiction playing field based around a UFO crash-site theme.

A UFO landing area was included in the original 2011 plans and remained part of Lock N Load's themed field offerings.[2][7]

Rambo's End and Platoon

Rambo's End and Platoon were bush-based playing environments advertised by Lock N Load.

These areas offered a different style of play from the constructed concept fields, making use of vegetation and natural cover.[7]

Speedball facilities

Competitive speedball formed part of the original concept for the Nixon Road venue.

Both Auckland Airport's April 2011 development announcement and its October opening announcement referred to speedball fields for teams.[2][3]

Speedball uses relatively symmetrical playing layouts with bunkers and is associated with organised tournament paintball.

The availability of dedicated competitive facilities distinguished Lock N Load's activities from those of recreational operators offering only scenario and bush paintball.

Equipment and services

Rental equipment

Lock N Load supplied semi-automatic paintball markers, masks and other rental equipment for recreational games.

A historical Bookme listing identified Tippmann rental markers using compressed air.[7]

Compressed-air-powered rental markers provided a consistent propellant system for recreational participants.

Compressed-air facilities

The 2012 WARPIG listing recorded carbon dioxide and 3,000 psi high-pressure air filling at Lock N Load.[5]

These facilities supported rental equipment and players bringing their own paintball markers.

The listing did not advertise 4,500 psi filling at that time.

Group activities

Lock N Load offered organised activities for recreational groups, including:

Birthday parties
Corporate events
Team-building activities
Stag parties
Social groups
School and youth groups

The business's proximity to Auckland Airport and the motorway network was a recurring element of its advertising.

During its later operation as Lock n Load Adventures, the venue also promoted archery and arrow tag alongside conventional and low-impact paintball.[8][9]

Competitive paintball

Tournament facilities

Lock N Load was designed to serve recreational customers and competitive paintball players.

The original 2011 plans specifically included speedball facilities, and the October 2011 announcement promoted the site's suitability for major competitions.[2][3]

The park provided a venue for local players to practise tournament-style paintball while operating a commercial recreational paintball business.

South Auckland Paintball Club

Lock N Load was associated with the South Auckland Paintball Club (SAPC), an incorporated Auckland competitive paintball organisation established in 2013.

SAPC was also associated with Asylum Paintball at Kingseat, Karaka, where it organised the SAPC Race Series during 2014 and 2015.

The relationship between SAPC and the two commercial venues reflected overlapping participation in Auckland's recreational and competitive paintball communities.

SAPC and Lock N Load Paintball were distinct organisations. The club's association with the venue does not establish that SAPC owned or operated the commercial park.

The precise chronology of SAPC's involvement at Lock N Load, including any competitions or training sessions held there, has not been established in surviving published records.

Coaching and player development

Lock N Load was connected to Auckland's tournament paintball community through training and coaching activities.

Former New Zealand tournament player and paintball industry participant Michael Earley recalls organising a coaching clinic at Lock N Load involving professional American player Ryan Greenspan of San Diego Dynasty.

Earley's recollection places the clinic in the early 2010s. The exact date has not been established through surviving event publicity.

Earley also recalls working within the Auckland paintball community alongside Vitaly Miheev, who was subsequently associated with Asylum Paintball at Kingseat.

These connections illustrate the movement of players, coaches and industry personnel between Auckland's recreational fields and tournament organisations during the period.

Relationship with other Auckland paintball venues

Lock N Load was one of several Auckland paintball businesses serving recreational and competitive players during the early 2010s.

Other venues included Actions Paintball, World Challenge Tag and Asylum Paintball.

The establishment of Lock N Load in 2011 preceded Asylum Paintball's development at the former Kingseat Hospital site.

Both venues became associated with members of the South Auckland tournament paintball community, although they were separate commercial facilities at different locations.

Lock N Load Paintball operated at 46 Nixon Road, near Auckland Airport. It was not located at 80B Hunua Road in Papakura, which was the address of the separate mid-2000s indoor facility A Paintball Adventure.

Location

Lock N Load Paintball occupied a site at 46 Nixon Road, Auckland Airport, Māngere, Auckland.

The facility was situated beside JK's World of Golf driving range within the Auckland Airport business district.

The site was accessible from both Auckland and Manukau via the motorway network.

Its location formed part of Auckland Airport's broader development of recreational and visitor attractions around the airport precinct.

Some later third-party directories listed the property as 42 Nixon Road, although contemporary Auckland Airport publicity and the 2012 WARPIG listing establish the Nixon Road venue, with the latter identifying number 46.[2][3][5]

Historical significance

Lock N Load formed part of the expansion of commercial paintball facilities in Auckland during the early 2010s.

The venue combined themed recreational fields with facilities specifically intended for competitive speedball, reflecting the different forms of paintball played in New Zealand at the time.

Its association with the South Auckland Paintball Club connected the commercial park to organised tournament paintball, while its later rebranding as Lock n Load Adventures reflected diversification into a wider range of outdoor recreational activities.

The site's development was also documented by Auckland Airport itself, providing contemporary evidence of the venue's establishment in 2011.

References

Lock N Load Adventures. Tripadvisor. Later attraction listing marking the venue as permanently closed.
Paintball is Coming to the Airport. Auckland Airport, 28 April 2011.
LocknLoad Paintball Experience Arrives. Auckland Airport, 28 October 2011.
Lock & Load Paintball. Yellow New Zealand. Business directory listing recording establishment in 2011.
Lock N Load Paintball. WARPIG Field Finder, entry dated 19 April 2012.
The Anything But The Gym Girls Try Paintball. Now to Love, 13 July 2016.
Lock N Load Paintball. Bookme New Zealand. Historical tourism and field description.
Lock n Load Adventures. Yoys. Later business description identifying the rebranding from Lock N Load Paintball.
Lock n Load Adventures. GrabOne New Zealand, June–July 2018 offer.
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport – Local Attractions. Cvent. Description of the later multi-activity Lock N Load Adventures venue.
Michael Earley, personal recollections recorded for the New Zealand Paintball History project, October 2026.

External links