Last Updated on March 7, 2023
What do props, street signs, culvert pipes, trash cans, and office equipment all have in common? The answer is Skirmish Paintball, a 750-acre paintball field boasting over 50 maps for players to show off their skills. While families and individuals come to enjoy the realism of the cityscapes, Sky Fogal knows first-hand what makes that realism possible. Here’s how government surplus powers the world’s largest paintball field.
“I think my favorite one to use as a bunker on-field, is definitely some of the large culvert pipes that we’ve put in play, which you can see in a lot of our different fields.”
From Video Games to Real Life Paintball
Sky is the president and one of the owners of a few companies: Skirmish Paintball, Pocono Whitewater Rafting, and Pocono Biking. Municibid has been his go-to marketplace for all three businesses, but especially for paintball.
“Skirmish Paintball is the world’s largest paintball facility with over 750 acres of paintball maps. We’ve put everything on these maps from old-style wooden forts, we made a replica of the Alamo, castles, towns, cities, villages, to giant cargo containers. If you can play it in a video game, my goal is to let you be able to play it in real-life.”
“We use Municibid to put a lot of the different props on the field. Some are playable, and some are just for show. We were able to buy used street signs at one auction. They were great. They really made the streetscapes we designed to play on look realistic.”
“Trying to buy any of that stuff new, it’s a paintball field, it’s gonna get messy, it’s gonna get shot. It’s crazy to buy it new. So a few dings, scratches, whatever, for us gives it a lived in look, gives it a little more authenticity than buying brand new shiny things. Not to mention, again, the huge cost savings.”
“I think that the strangest thing I’ve ever won at a Municibid auction was just a box of random assorted lab equipment that I won from a municipal water authority. So, from a sewage treatment plant. We got a whole bunch of glass test tubes and vials and graduated cylinders, and all that kind of thing. And we used them in a paintball scenario game as part of the chemical laboratory. So, you had to go and get all the different pieces, assemble them, and that’s how you got your points.”
Skirmish Paintball was originally founded by his father back in 1984. After playing a version of the game in Canada, he brought the concept back to the states making the company one of the first in the industry. Since its founding, the company has grown exponentially – 750 acres, over 50 maps – and now with Sky leading the helm. Skirmish Paintball is indeed the largest paintball facility in the world.
Repurposing and Reusing
“For me personally, I like government auctions, because a there’s an appropriate quantity of stuff for the size business we are. I’m not bidding on a single trashcan, or I’m not bidding on a single telephone. That’s really nice. We’re also an outdoor company, so we’re all about making sure the environment is as clean as possible, right?”
“If we have bad weather, if we don’t take care of the environment, it doesn’t take care of us. That’s our office, it’s really outside. I’m outside six days a week. So because of that I’m a huge proponent of reusing. If I can reuse something, I don’t have to buy it new. I don’t have to generate a new waste stream because of that. Reusing and repurposing stuff is something that, especially in our paintball company, we live by. It’s a true model for us.”
First Responder Training
Everyday citizens may frequent the maps the most, but they aren’t the only ones who use the cityscapes!
“One of our most popular maps is Tippmann City. So, Tippmann City consists of approximately 36 buildings that’ve been used for obviously paintball games, but it’s also been used for Department of Defense training and testing, military training and testing, SWAT team CQB, close quarter combat training, and obviously lots and lots of paintball.”
“And we’ve used a number of things we’ve won on Municibid there. The main one is the street signs, of course. They give you a really nice way to bring a little more realism into our city in the woods, right. But we’ve also used things like trash cans that we’ve won off of there, some culvert piping to make internal walls and bunkers that we’ve been able to cut up and repurpose. All that kind of stuff really makes for a very immersive and still really fun to play map.”
Office Equipment
In addition to the decor out on the paintball field, Sky has also made extensive use of government surplus to use behind closed doors in the office. That includes everything from his computers to trash cans and more. Anything that makes running a business easier.
“We’ve won quite a few things at Municibid over the years. I’ve been a member of this site from, actually I don’t even know how long, it’s been quite a while. Everything on my desk, from the phone I’m using to the switches that control my computer, to of course, a whole bunch of our paintball bunkers, most of our trash cans on property. Lots of stuff like that. It’s hard to pick a favorite one.”
Government Surplus Props and Designs
“I bid on some other things at specific military properties or bases and things that we’ve been alerted to potential auctions. But for me, Municibid is the cleanest. It’s so easy, where you can go in and you can search by location, which is big for us. Because we’re not buying things to be, I guess you’d put it, normally used. So for us, transportation is really tough. We need to make sure that I can send a truck and I don’t get killed on that transit. So, being able to search by a mile radius is awesome for us.”
“I mean, it’s it’s eBay for municipal auctions, and it really works.”
While Sky keeps his clientele satisfied and coming back for more creative games, company leaders like him all across the nation are reaping the rewards of government surplus. And as he learned, there’s such a variety of items on auction, that how you get to use those items is entirely up to you, and is sure to stretch your imagination. Government surplus includes everything automotive, office supplies, even storage options. Find what’s right for you and your business with Municibid today!