Paintball in Scotland and the UK is closer to recreating the sport’s success in America with the official opening of the £300,000 Terminator paintball arena at Scotkart near Cambuslang today.

The Terminator is the first pitch built to professional standards seen in America and is the only purpose built, permanent Astroturf, all weather facility in the UK. The site hosts speedball, a faster update of paintball, played on a flat enclosed pitch, with 42 inflatable bunkers for cover instead of trees.

In speedball the 60m by 40m pitch size keeps the teams of five to ten people in range of each other the whole time.

This creates a quicker more accessible game based around teamwork, tactics and fast reactions. Matches take place over several rounds. Lightweight trainers, sports gear and colourful team shirts are the clothing options of choice over camouflage and boots.

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To reach the required standard, the Terminator took six months to develop. It required 2400 square metres of specialist Astroturf and inflatable bunkers from Europe's top manufacturer. The site was remodelled to include an observation area protected by netting, a feature critical to turning paintball into a spectator sport. Floodlights provide all-year-round play.

Reclaimed shipping containers surround the site to create an all weather facility.

Stewart Matthews, managing director of Scotkart and the Terminator said: "Extreme sports are hugely popular in Scotland. We opened up the country’s first indoor karting track when karting was in a similar position to paintball and people really took to it.

"We feel speedball has the same potential and this investment could help put Scotland at the forefront of the sport in the future."

Steve Bull, Chairman of the UKPSF, added: "The Terminator is a welcome additional to the paintball scene. We know it will provide excellent facilities for Scottish players and hopefully it will also bring new people to the sport."

The introduction of the Terminator is hoped to help support Lanarkshire's recent success in marketing the area as a tourist destination.

Over the past three years, Lanarkshire has seen a 13% rise in visitor numbers from 2.6m to 2.95m and tourism has grown in value from £228.33m to £300.59m. The site is to create seven new positions at Scotkart.

The terminator will run alongside Scotland's original indoor karting track at Scotkart. It will open from 10am to 10pm, seven days a week.

(GK/BMcc)