Jill Fier

SDSU students now have one more option for entertainment in Brookings with the opening of the Dark Side Paintball Arena at the beginning of the year.

Verla Carpenter, who owns the arena with her husband Roger, said the business, located in the center of the Brookings Mall next to Carpy’s, opened Jan. 3 and briefly closed due to a change in management. The arena reopened last Thursday.

The arena is open Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m., Friday from 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. and Sunday from 1 to 10 p.m.

Ten dollars gives customers an all-day pass to the arena, and paintballs can be purchased for $2 per 50 balls. The $10 fee also pays for the use of all other equipment needed, like helmets and paintball guns. Anyone under 18 must also have a waiver signed by his or her parents.

Arena manager Dan Nord said groups of people are rotated for 30-minute sessions in the arena, and people can go through as many times as they like with their all-day pass.

Nord said the business hours are flexible, and groups can even reserve the arena for a couple hours at a time if they have enough people interested.

Nord said that business has been good so far, and college crowds usually show up later in the evenings on the weekend.

Some students have shown so much interest in the sport that an SDSU student is attempting to start a paintball club for other students who are interested in playing regularly.