Taken from Paintball Reserve Dec 4th...
" Heard today that Huntington Beach has banned paintball from the beach for environmental reasons. Chris Raehl. We are seeking official confirmation from the City of HB. Details forthcoming. "
Taken From Beach Blog
"Controversial paintball tournament cancelled
December 2nd, 2008, 3:14 pm · 16 Comments · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer
A controversial paintball tournament in Huntington Beach that had environmentalists upset because of balls of paint scattered on the sand afterward will not be returning next year.
“Certainly, we have a lot of events gong on. It’s always been a controversial event for us,” said city spokeswoman Laurie Payne.
The Super 7 World Series of Paintball tournament – usually held in March – for the past six years brings in about 70,000 spectators to the sand, along with 1,500 players who battle it out on courts.
The event is put on by the National Professional Paintball League, and includes amateurs and professionals.
The city was just informed about the news Monday, with tournament organizers citing budget constraints.
“It’s a good financial generator,” Payne said. But having the event gone: “It’s not going to kill us.”
The event last year brought in about $480,000 to the city.
The three-day event had its critics.
This year, Mike Martin was driving down Pacific Coast Highway when orange paint splattered under his wheel well, tires and bumper.
“The street was covered in them, you couldn’t dodge them,” he said at the time. “They were still cracking and popping and squirting all over.”
Crewmembers would spend days picking up paintballs, starting at 6 a.m. to midnight to clean up the aftermath, scooping them up with shovels and plucking the balls from the sand. The balls are biodegradable.
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