SITE REPORT
THE ARENA - NEW ZEALAND
THE ARENA
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
AIRSOFT ACTION’S “MAN DOWN UNDER”, IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS, GETS HIS CQB GAME ON, AS HE
REPORTS FROM AN EXCELLENT SITE IN THE SUBURBS OF CHRISTCHURCH, NZ.
L
ocated in the Yaldhurst suburb of Christchurch, The
Arena is a compound-style venue tucked away from
the road by a tree line, keeping things hidden in plain
sight. There is ample parking in the compound along with
an excellent seating/setup area. The site and shop are
located at the same location but are both large enough to
stand alone.
Shop wise, on the outside it looked a little small, but
once inside size perceptions change. The walls were lined
with a vast selection of airsoft guns, shelves full of tactical
gear, face masks and equipment. Glass Cabinets held the
smaller guns along with accessories and spares under the
counter. The guns were from brands such as ICS, Tokyo
Marui, GHK,
LCT and VFC.
The store is laid
out very nicely,
everything is
easy enough to
find and you
can’t help but
get distracted
and drawn to
the gun wall.
All the
Airsoft
guns were
individually
locked to the
wall, which was
a great way of
keeping control of who handles what. The staff were very
friendly and knowledgeable. They were more than happy
to unlock the guns and allow you to hold and feel them.
It’s no secret that the Arena staff are some of the very
best techs in the Christchurch area, offering the best
options for gearbox rebuilds and upgrades to ensure
airsoft guns are running to their best performance or to
tune them up if wanted.
THE SKIRMISH FIELD
Hidden again from view of the shop and preparation
area, mainly to protect the safe zone, the playing field is
accessed through an airlock-type design using an area cut
off via 2 hanging sheets attached to an enclosed wooden
structure. This allowed you to load and unload in between
the site and safe zone.
The Arena is very enjoyable. It is certainly one of
the best close quarters playing fields I have been on.
The amount of cover to weave in and around, the
passageways, the windows and in parts the two stories
adding height for the snipers out there along with the
balance of open space made the venue what it is. There
really is something for every type of airsofter in this field.
If you are fast, you could probably run around causing
chaos and get away with it for some time but without
a doubt, it also allows for strategic team manoeuvrers
to work through the container buildings and timber
structures with devastating effect. Being CQB, power is
limited to 350fps for safety reasons.
CQB with tight spaces and lots of corners really
promotes the very effective use of pistols as a primary!!
“IT IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE BEST CLOSE QUARTERS PLAYING FIELDS I HAVE BEEN ON. THE AMOUNT
OF COVER TO WEAVE IN AND AROUND, THE PASSAGEWAYS, THE WINDOWS AND IN PARTS THE TWO
STORIES ADDING HEIGHT FOR THE SNIPERS OUT THERE ALONG WITH THE BALANCE OF OPEN SPACE
MADE THE VENUE WHAT IT IS.”
54
MAY 2020