Paintball Magazine 2018 Paintball Extravaganza Special Edition | Page 16

2018 Paintball
Extravaganza
International
By John Amodea, Photos By Aaron Dill
For 13 years the
Paintball Extravaganza
International has been
the
world’s
largest
paintball industry-only,
wholesale-only
trade
show. What started
out as a modest show
with 18 exhibitors and
36 fields and stores in
attendance in 2005, grew into an event that
has seen 70-plus exhibitors and 200-plus
paintball fields and stores participating.
Many retailers and store owners come for
the tech training classes; others come to
set up their buying options for the coming
season; some come for the networking
opportunity; some for the roundtable talks
and industry luncheon; some come to see
the new products; and some come for all of
these reasons combined.
Some History
The Paintball Extravaganza’s history can be
traced back to the early 2000s when Rick
Chard, now the event’s producer, purchased
a sporting goods store. Having no previous
experience or exposure to paintball, Rick
went to a national sporting goods show
in Chicago to learn about paintball. After
further searching he discovered there was no
such event for the paintball industry.
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