4 minute read
SITE: THE ARENA
THE ARENA CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
AIRSOFT ACTION’S “MAN DOWN UNDER”, IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS, GETS HIS CQB GAME ON, AS HE REPORTS FROM AN EXCELLENT SITE IN THE SUBURBS OF CHRISTCHURCH, NZ.
Located in the Yaldhurst suburb of Christchurch, The Arena is a compound-style venue tucked away from the road by a tree line, keeping things hidden in plain sight. There is ample parking in the compound along with an excellent seating/setup area. The site and shop are located at the same location but are both large enough to stand alone.
Shop wise, on the outside it looked a little small, but once inside size perceptions change. The walls were lined with a vast selection of airsoft guns, shelves full of tactical gear, face masks and equipment. Glass Cabinets held the smaller guns along with accessories and spares under the counter. The guns were from brands such as ICS, Tokyo Marui, GHK, LCT and VFC. The store is laid out very nicely, everything is easy enough to find and you can’t help but get distracted and drawn to the gun wall.
All the Airsoft guns were individually locked to the wall, which was a great way of
keeping control of who handles what. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. They were more than happy to unlock the guns and allow you to hold and feel them.
It’s no secret that the Arena staff are some of the very best techs in the Christchurch area, offering the best options for gearbox rebuilds and upgrades to ensure airsoft guns are running to their best performance or to tune them up if wanted.
THE SKIRMISH FIELD Hidden again from view of the shop and preparation area, mainly to protect the safe zone, the playing field is accessed through an airlock-type design using an area cut off via 2 hanging sheets attached to an enclosed wooden structure. This allowed you to load and unload in between the site and safe zone.
The Arena is very enjoyable. It is certainly one of the best close quarters playing fields I have been on. The amount of cover to weave in and around, the passageways, the windows and in parts the two stories adding height for the snipers out there along with the balance of open space made the venue what it is. There really is something for every type of airsofter in this field.
If you are fast, you could probably run around causing chaos and get away with it for some time but without a doubt, it also allows for strategic team manoeuvrers to work through the container buildings and timber structures with devastating effect. Being CQB, power is limited to 350fps for safety reasons.
CQB with tight spaces and lots of corners really promotes the very effective use of pistols as a primary!!
Guys that know how to run and gun with pistols proved very hard to challenge. Although players using AEG’s of all sizes were getting good kill tallies too.
Another great aspect of the field was that most of the buildings had multiple entries to them. This allowed you to travel through the building. But also meant players couldn’t camp out in one spot, simply because it wouldn’t be long before someone on the other side would most likely to come across your hideout and get you. There were two referees on the field, one up high and the other roaming. They, thankfully, were almost not required. All the games seemed to play very well. Not once did I see or hear of any cheating or non-hit taking. Just good old fashioned honest airsoft skirmish.
There are various hire gun packages available, which include the walk-on as well as some ammo and magazines. These start at $39. I went for one of the Arena “Premium Gun” packages, which cost $44. I had to go for the ICS SA80 (L85) A2’s for our motherland. There were, however, many other options that I could have gone for, from AKs, light machine guns, MP5s and, of course, the usual M4 variants.
The hire gun fleet seemed to be in great working condition for guns that no doubt have been used vigorously for months. Using .25 bbs, I gave a slight adjust of the hop up and it was easily ranging ¾ of the field length - around 70m or so. Definitely couldn’t complain. The hire gun came equipped with a reflex sight, making it quick and easy to line up targets as I passed through the site. I even had ample opportunity to be sneaky enough to use my rubber knife on a few occasions!
The games we played varied from simple team vs. team death match, to more objective-driven games with actual missions to complete in order to win. On average the games ran for around half an hour and each time I was able to find a different way through the maze of cover.
Overall, this is a site worth checking out. Even if you’re over here on a holiday make sure you can fit it in. You won’t be disappointed. I look forward to going to the Arena every year I visit Christchurch for the larger game with OZ1 airsoft club from Australia. You can check them out online: www.thearena.co.nz AA
