EDIT: A far more comprehensive and informative piece (from an actual UK Nerf blogger) at My Last Dart!
Remember this article?
http://www.4-traders.com/PARAGON-ENT-ORD-0-1P-DI-9730891/news/PARAGON-ENT-ORD-0-1P-DI-Licensing-agreement-with-Hasbro-15442909/
Thanks to the folks at Paragon, I have a couple of images to share! I'll update with more info, but don't have that much time at the moment (remember, I do have a day job.)
EDIT:
I'm back! Now I'm not too sure about how much I can say, but here's the story so far:
- No plans for this in the U.S. yet; only UK, Europe and South Africa.
- 1st Nerf attraction of this sort opened up November 9, you can find it in Westfield Merry Hill. Name of the thing is called "Quest". If you find pics, send'em! Post on the Foam From Above Facebook page!
- There will be any number of components; notably a Nerf-only toy store/Pro Shop, Shooting Range, and Arena (the arenas should start popping up around March 2013, again in the UK.
- Definitely a "try before you buy" setup, and there is going to be something they're doing to make visiting worth your while, and even more worth your while to keep coming back :) Again, not sure what I can say about that at this point in time.
The pics above show the shooting range (up to about 6 meters, about 20 feet). No pics on what the arenas are going to look like, but I will say there are going to be a couple of versions, depending on what kind of location you're in.
Either way, this is super exciting! Official arenas, all-Nerf stores, target ranges, the works. It just saddens me that much like the Stockade and Iron Man Firefly, this is going on overseas first. Hopefully there's a company out there willing to take this project on to bring it to the U.S., though maybe between having paintball and airsoft so readily available, maybe it was considered a tall order to start here?
Here's the best part; all the material is official and Nerf-licensed, so if you're looking for a true Nerf event/game, this is it. I imagine it would only be Nerf products/ammo, but ultimately the quality of a dedicated field/play space just might outweigh the lack of modded blasters and other off-brand stuff, no? The Nerf Dart Tag League seemed popular plenty, why not a store? What's to say a number of storefronts couldn't band together in a proper Nerf League? The potential seems strong here. Nerf supporting the use of its brand in a competitive setting. I remember countless posts on forums in the past about setting up a Nerf arena/proshop/whatever... and here we go. It's all set, and we just need to find it and hope it happens in our area. Well played, Across the Pond. Enjoy your jump on the U.S. in having this initiative there first.
Labels: arena, dart tag, n-strike elite, nerf, pro, shop, store, stryfe, target range
