Take Aim
Get Your Fun Fix at Fort Knox Paintball
Writer / Angela Cornell
Photographer / Jubilee Edgell
Dave Wagner will never forget the day that his son Justin approached him with the idea of opening a paintball park in Knox in the early 2000s.
I said, Are you crazy? No one is going to come to Winamac, Indiana, Dave says. However, it didnt take long for Justin to convince him to give it a shot.
I thought, Well, if we do this right and make it the best paintball field in the state, then people will come, Dave says.
They decided that if they were going to do it, they would do it right. They took the time to visit and research all of the popular paintball parks in the Midwest. If we were going to do this, we were going to have to be one of the best, Justin says. Being in a rural area and not having a lot of money to invest, we knew it wouldnt be easy.
That lack of bankroll prompted ingenuity. Dave was a construction engineer, which gave the Wagners access to recycled and scrap materials from old jobs that Dave had worked over the years. We would take what we had and create something creative that people would play paintball on, Justin says. It was like artwork. We were doing things that no other paintball park was doing.
Thanks to Daves experience in construction, they had the skills needed to create an incredible experience for others to enjoy. We ended up with a lot of unique fields you wont see anywhere else in paintball, Dave says. Through the years they have continued to use common items to create their obstacles, like grain silos, shipping containers, railroad ties, highway signs and so much more.
Paintball is a high-intensity game that people of all ages and walks of life can enjoy to create good memories that will last a lifetime. A lot of people view paintball as a bunch of tough guys going out and shooting each other with paintballs and it hurts, Justin says. Theres some negativity about it. But, its really where friends and family, father and son, bachelor parties, birthday parties – they get together and just have fun. Its normal people going out there and having fun.
When a group goes out to Fort Knox Paintball, they have a chance to play as many of the fields as they want. Each game of paintball is about 10 to 15 minutes long, unless a large group is playing, in which case a game will take longer. A referee will take them out to all of the maps that we have, Justin says. So theyll go out to, say, the Town of Deadwood, theyll play a game, switch sides, and play again. Then theyll go back and get more paint and more air, and then theyll go to a different map. Theyll just rotate fields throughout the day. Its kind of like an amusement park where you go to all the different rides.
Even from the start, the business model was complex – a multi-map park, each one themed differently to enhance the players experiences. They started with one field in 2004, and throughout the next 17 years they built on, a little bit at a time.
The first six years represented an incredible learning curve for the father-son team. Until the year 2010 we didnt even know if the business was going to make it, but we stuck with it, Dave says. It was hard at times.
Today, Fort Knox is 14-field park and they have safety equipment available for anyone who wishes to rent instead of buying their own. Players have the option of playing in an Old West town, in Area 51, on a model of a pirate ship from the Bermuda Triangle, in Alcatraz, on an exact replica of a popular Call of Duty setting, and on an abandoned Interstate 85 while fighting zombies. There are several other maps, all of which present a realistic, adrenaline-pumping game. We tried to take it to the next level where, instead of just playing out in the woods, we tried to make a setting for each map where people feel that they are in The Walking Dead or in an Old West town, Justin says.
Next year the Fort Knox team will celebrate their 20th anniversary. They are arguably one of the best paintball parks in the states, if the comments and number of visitors are anything to go on. We have several customers who travel all over the United States to play paintball, and they overwhelmingly tell us that were the best field, infrastructure-wise, that they have ever been on, Dave says.
Justin points to Dave as his mentor, support and partner. I am very grateful to have a good father, he says. He taught me so much, from building and creating to being a good, honest and positive person. Hes taught me that you can overcome anything. You can do anything if you are willing to work. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Hard work always pays off.
Fort Knox Paintball has been a rewarding business to own. It makes me smile when I hear them come off the field after theyre done playing, talking about how much fun that was, Justin says. It just builds a better relationship in a weird way. It makes them smile.
Fort Knox Paintball Park is located at 7485 North U.S. Highway 35 in Winamac. Hours of operation are Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Mon. through Fri. by reservation only for groups of more than 20 people. Walk-ons are welcome.
To learn more about group rates, how to reserve the park for a private event, the dates of their next special event, or how to become a VIP member, call 574-946-4988 or visit fortknoxpaintball.com.
