08/19/2026
Goodbye, and thanks for 16 years.
Heavy heartedly, we say goodbye to Richmond Paintball after almost 17 years.
On December 27th, 2009 we began construction of something unique and wonderful, we completed in June of 2010 and opened officially September 25th of 2010. There were originally 6 people whom invested in what came to be.
The first employee, whom after being laughed at for telling them they would own the place one day, bought the business with help from his best friend in 2014, and held it until it's final day of August 2nd of 2026.
We were down to our last penny more than once, through thick and thin, rising prices on everything we used, salaries and rent, we continued with very little changes in our prices. Many people told us we wouldn't make it this far. We were closed in 2020 until 2021, when after many letters to the province of BC, we were allowed to re-open, and we struggled, but it was never for the money, it was always for the community.
We built something special. It was never about the game, it was always about the people. This thing was built by ordinary people, playing an ordinary game.
We have made friendships, even some people met their future husbands and wives, had children, and look back on something more than just a game. We hired girls, boys, almost always teenagers. We were known as the misfits. The unemployable with no experience, but we always had somewhere to fit in. Some kids called this place home, their safe place, their outlet to vent, to cry, to grow as a person, and to heal. We grieve the loss, not of the business; but of an outlet we didn't know we needed.
We ran out of money a long time ago, and we took our losses. That didn't matter. The landlord did not renew our lease, then offered it back to us for almost double what we were paying, so it was time to say goodbye and start a new chapter in our lives.
Thank you humbly, sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts, it was the best years of our lives. Thank you all for knowing us, and experiencing it with us.
