Hi, I’m Richard and I run Battlefield LIVE Dundee – an indoor combat themed lasergaming centre in Dundee.
We are a family business so our whole family have been involved in the business, my wife, my daughter, my son and we are in our 6th Year!
I started it 6 years ago having taken a redundancy package from an organisation called scottish enterprise, so I used my redundancy money to fund the start of my business.
I started the business because I used to take my son, who at the time was a lot younger to a lot of old fashioned style laser tag parties and on the way out I would see at least 6 out of the 10 want their birthday’s there. Seeing that, I thought it was a really good word of mouth mechanism for a business with a lot of potential for repeat business. Also at the time my son was into his xbox and playing call of duty so I thought if you could update that laser tag experience to something more modern and link that with a combat theme and combine it with a live action experience then we would be onto a winner and that’s what we decided to do.
Before I purchased, I did a whole load of research into what was available, so I looked at the more traditional laser tag stuff, but I didn’t think it cut it in terms of the way it looked, it also didn’t give you the real time hit feedback and all the stuff that I thought was necessary. So I did an online search of what’s available and found Battlefield Sports.
We Wanted something that was going to be robust, something that would last and something that looked and felt right, that was the main thing to me. If the equipment didn’t feel or look like what I needed it to look like for the theme then I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want plasticy, or transparent or 80’s style laser tag equipment, and there was a lot of that about. I also wanted something with some kind of after sales support behind it, that was really important to me
I chose Battlefield Sports equipment because of the the way the kit stood out from the other suppliers in terms of the way it looked, the way it worked and the way it sounded in terms of quality of sounds from the live feedback. Also the sounds on the software actually sounded true to the model so if it was a machine gun, it sounded like a machine gun. If it was a shotgun then it sounded like a shotgun.
The equipments robust and constantly fixable, because it’s modular in construction it is very easy to swap out parts and fix stuff, even on the day. The spawn boxes are a great thing.
The equipment was reliable, durable and there was good after sales support in the locally in the UK.
One thing I really like about the equipment is our Customers ability to respawn without them needing the staff to get involved with that or being reliant on staff.
Our clients love the game, they love the theming, they have a adrenalin rush playing and it keeps bringing people back to us. To keep things interesting for our repeat customers we change the arena plays fairly regularly too.
David has been really supportive and I’m 100% absolutely happy with my investment into the Battlefield Sports Equipment, it has definitely delivered in terms of what I wanted. I’d recommend Battlefield Sports equipment – military theme because of the realistic nature of it and it plays really well.
We broke even in our first year and since then it’s been really good. I am happy with my return on investment and how I spent my redundancy money and we will continue to grow the business even more.
When I started I had No experience in the entertainment industry but it’s definitely a positive lifestyle change for the better. I certainly wouldn’t go back to being an employee.
When you’re running your own business it’s never off your mind, you’re always thinking about it. We’ve been on holiday skiing in the alps and the phones going off and we’ve taken a booking whilst skiing in the alps on the slopes in tignes so you never quite switch off but that’s a nice lifestyle to have!
One of the thing that surprises me about using the Battlefield Sports equipment is all the different types of customers it attracts. We have kids and adults playing, all types of groups, schools and people who really want to push the boat out for their special occasions. What’s really nice is it also attracts players with learning difficulties such as autism. I think to have an activity that is inclusive is really important and to see players really enjoying the games and the theming we have made in our arena, and keep coming back because they love it makes it a awesome business to have!