Without a home and no place to go, the owners of Flag Raiders paintball games are looking for help from the City of Cambridge so they can get back to running their business, a well-known entertainment attraction in the north end of the city.
“I just want to work, I just want to run our business,” says Joe Kimpson, part owner of Flag Raiders, alongside his sister, Corey.
“I feel like a ping pong ball and they’re just shooting us back and forth.”
The company used to rent space beside Bingemans but had to move out due to revenue losses during the pandemic.
They tried everything they could to stay open but ended up taking close to 90 trips instead to move everything by hand from that spot to the land they own on 1500 Kossuth Road.
They want to reopen Flag Raiders for not just the community but the paintball players who come from all over for tournaments, often helping create tourism dollars for the region. The property on Kossuth was their previous paintball location before the site next to Bingemans for eight years.
“Through Waterloo Region tourism we were connected with Bingemans who were happy to have us,” said Corey walking around their property where they hope to open Flag Raiders again.
“It appears as though that property where we were located is now being developed. We left on good terms, we have letters of support from Bingemans.”
The majority of the property, as seen on the map provided by Kimpson, is ‘open space,’ mostly just trees and shrubs, it’s about 58.4 percent of the land-used whereas the recreational used land is close to 26.5 per cent of their property as identified by a planner they hired.
“There have been a lot of changes since we were here last. We now have the bridge on Fairway Road, there's the roundabout, there's the stoplights, the distribution centre, the Waterloo airport has nearly doubled in size,” she said as another plane flew over.
They have tried multiple empty land spaces to use for Flag Raiders location, but for one rule or another, they aren’t able to get through the red tape.
The land they use now is deemed prime agricultural which has become a hurdle for them. As well as a few neighbours, a farm or two away, who would rather not have a paintball games company near them. Paint balls are biodegradable, it can still be used for farmland if needed, she added.
“We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to deal with this.”
“We're small, we’ve been around for 40 years. We're getting no support, no help,” added Joe.
“It feels like we are being led in circles.”
They brought a package to city council this past March, hoping to get them to permit the use of the designated recreational land on their property.
“We hope that everybody can work together to find a solution to bring Flag Raiders back and get us operating. The provincial league has contacted us and they are willing to give us events later this season that would bring that much needed tourism into the area,” says Corey.
They also mentioned that their sets have been used in movies before as it often provides the perfect backdrop for an apocalypse. Cambridge is seeing more production companies filming in the area, and it could provide another filming location.
“Flag Raiders is a long-established local institution that has and will continue to greatly contribute to our local economy, providing employment, opportunities for student learning, team building and recreation and tourism,” said K-W Chamber of Commerce president Ian McLean in a letter to the City of Cambridge on February 16, showing support for the small business.
They have a petition with over 7,000 signatures so far.
“These young guys, they miss it, they miss playing and being part of the community with other young men. They still come up here, to cut the grass for us, they have BBQs up here. They often feel like they don’t have anywhere to go, like this is a place where they enjoy being. They all have been fighting to help us reopen,” said Corey.
On March 14, the Ontario Paintball League (OPL) wrote a letter of support for Flag Raiders to the city as well, noting an offer to host events that drive tourism dollars to the economy.
“Flag Raiders paintball has been an institution in the paintball industry for almost four decades. They have always offered a top notch facility and venue for events. Their location is essential to all teams from all over Ontario.”
The last three events of the series would be scheduled in Cambridge for July, August and September. The OPL stated they need the city to make a decision soon or they will have to look elsewhere.
Explore Waterloo Region also wrote to the city February 14, expressing their support for the paintball company.
“This attraction has been trying to reopen after having moved from their previous location in Kitchener and have been running into roadblocks for the past couple of years. Flag Raiders adds to the attraction of our community to visitors as well as providing a fun and healthy activity for residents.”
Joe and Corey hope to keep working with city council to see Flag Raiders paintball reopen this summer, alongside the other attractions in the area.
During last week's council meeting councillors Mike Mann and Jan Liggett asked if a temporary exemption could be granted again to allow this summer's activities to proceed while the city and the region work out some kind of solution.
"They need to get going with this. They have tournaments and events they need to plan and market for," Coun. Liggett said, describing Flag Raiders as a tourism draw and showcase for the city. "If we don't do something now, they will not be able to have this season."
She also suggested it could come down to the city endorsing a Minister's Zoning Order to change the site's land-use designation.
Deputy city manager Hardy Bromberg told council the city has scheduled a meeting with the region to discuss possible workarounds to their official plans that might permit the business to continue on Kossuth Road this summer, while offering no promises to the company.
