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The Chicago Open has long stood as the second largest event in Paintball Sports Promotion’s annual series of tournaments, falling short only of the Paintball World Cup in size. Its popularity can be attributed to several things, which include Bad Boyz Toyz promoting it heavily, the location of Chicago making it a central point for US and Canadian teams to gather, and the venue – the Badlandz paintball field. The Badlandz open grass fields offered ample parking and room for concept fields.

With the 2003 season the bar has been raised for venue quality. PSP is facing new competition, tournament paintball is going through a new evolution. PSP has set the venue for this year’s Chicago Open at the Maywood Park harness racing track. Like the Los Angeles Open which was held at the Pomona Fairgrounds racetrack, this will mean that the Chicago Open can offer the lush, manicured grass of the horse track’s infield as a playing surface, paved parking, and the other conveniences of a permanent event facility. 

While the previous site, Badlandz paintball field is located on pasture land adjacent to Maywood’s sister facility Balmoral Park, which could have similarly hosted the event, Maywood was chosen as a more convenient location in terms of travel. Maywood Park is only 15 minutes drive from Chicago O’Hare airport, next to the city limits of downtown Chicago, as opposed to the drive of more than an hour into Chicago’s southern suburbs for the old site. This means less hectic travel for teams, as well as easier access at night to the restaurants and clubs of downtown Chicago, which were previously an impractical drive from Lansing.

According to PSP's Renick Miller, the Maywood Park track has a significant advantage over the LA Fairplex track used in Pomona.  Because the Maywood park track is used for harness racing rather than thoroughbred racing, the track surface is a paved composite material rather than soil.  Miller says that the site layout is still being designed, but current plans are for teams to stage in individual tents as with the Las Vegas Open, and that access to a useable track area means these tents can be located next to the playing fields.  Current plans also include setting up trade show space on the track surrounding the fields, in order to avoid the back and forth trips through tunnels that were needed at the Pomona Fairplex.

The Maywood site has additional benefits for players and visitors.  It is located at the third busiest intersection in the state of Illinois, with an ample supply of strip malls, restaurants, grocery stores, and "mart" stores within a few blocks in either direction.  Additionally Maywood Park features a full restaurant on the infield grounds which will be open during the tournament, and according to Miller this facility and a beverage sponsor will make certain that bottled water is supplied to competitors through out the tournament.

The 2003 Chicago Open will feature 5 player, 10 player, Division 2 X Ball, Division 1 X Ball, and NXL professional X Ball competitions.

Follow all the action of the 2003 PSP Chicago Open on WARPIG.com, the Official Internet Resource of Paintball Sports Promotions.

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