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Alabama Paintball 280 is growing in popularity in Chelsea, bringing people of all ages together to have fun as a group and make memories. (Reporter photos/Tyler Raley and Contributed/Alabama Paintball 280)

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – With the sun shining and families trying to find new ways to make memories, the city of Chelsea has a new avenue in town for many to enjoy.

Alabama Paintball 280, located at 13211 U.S. Highway 280 in Chelsea, marks the third location to open in the state and the second to come to Shelby County, with the other being in housed in Calera in addition to a location in McCalla.

Opening the third location in Chelsea has been a desire for the organization for a long time, and for Shelby County native Tyler Ewing, it was a one that grew increasingly with the growth of his hometown.

“We get a lot of folks that visited our Calera location, and have for several years now, from this area,” Ewing said. “There’s been a lot of growth in the area, similar to what we’ve seen around our other locations. Obviously Chelsea Park has been a big development and brought a lot of new faces, and with that comes a new need for kind of a central community area for people to come together. We are thrilled to be the ones to fill those shoes.”

With the first site opening in 2013, Alabama Paintball is an organization that has parks for groups of all sizes to play paintball at, offering immersive experiences with rental equipment so that games can be played. Each location has multiple fields, with the Calera location holding five, the McCalla location holding eight, and the Chelsea location holding three.

The location in Chelsea officially opened for private groups to come to in March, and to all groups on April 26. The park is designed to host parties and groups specifically, and offers three different options of playing for guests- each with multiple game modes.

Gellyball and NERF Wars are for kids as young as 4 years old, and are ways for kids to get started softly with the activity. Meanwhile, Low-Impact Paintball is offered for kids as young as 6 years old and utilizes smaller paintballs with the same equipment, but with less pain when contact is made.

Having seen the success that the Chelsea site has had so far, Ewing and the team are proud of the journey the location has taken thus far, feeling happy with the results it has produced.

“Any time anybody shows even remote interest in playing paintball, it sparks something in me—in all of our team,” Ewing said. “Paintball isn’t something a lot of people knee-jerk go to when they think of stuff to do with their whole family, or stuff to do for birthday parties, and we’re really trying to change that- especially for younger kids or families. Seeing the amount of attention and really the warm welcome that Chelsea has given us has been really fulfilling. This project has been in the making for quite a long time now, and it’s been an exciting journey, but getting to this point has really brought a lot full-circle.”

Ewing has contained an immense passion for paintball ever since he was young- Starting anew and expanding the reach of the brand at the Chelsea location has increased that love in a big way.

“I’ve been playing since I was a little kid, so have my partners,” Ewing said. “We’ve been doing this for about 25 years each. You can call that a combined 75 years of experience, and we all see paintball offering something that nothing else offers, which is a real-life escape from everything going on around you. It’s something that is fully immersive, and it’s something that anyone can get involved in in some way. I’ve seen people with physical limitations, mental differences, I’ve seen people with just about anything that you could think of holding them back be able to really enjoy this and immerse themselves in the experience, and that’s part of what really drew me to it.”

As the Chelsea location continues to grow and settle in to another part of Shelby County for the summer months, Alabama Paintball will continue to offer services each day of the week, wanting to help customers make memories. Private groups are allowed to reserve on any day, while open groups are allowed time on Saturdays.

“We want to help the community, and if growing the sport is a by-product of that, awesome,” Ewing said. “We are less focused on the competitive side of things at this location, and more focused on getting people to come together. I think that if we can get people to come together in this day and age, then we’re doing the best that we can do.”

Those who want more information on Alabama Paintball 280 can visit its website at Alabamapaintball280.com.

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