Gobble Gully co-owner is chamber guest speaker

The guest speaker at the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce meeting Wednesday, November 19, was Rhonda Butler, co-owner of the new Gobble Gully Paintball north of Turkey Creek.
She said the facility has attracted people from all around the parish, and groups of up to 20 or 30 come from Alexander and Lafayette. Visitors have told the owners and Gobble Gully employees that the local facility, with its numerous fields in wooded rolling hillsidess dotted with bunkers and other hiding places, are better than other paintball fields they have visited, which are often just open fields. She said she has been told Gobble Gully has the best paintball fields in the state.
She and her husband, Frank, were surprised the paintball field facility “was so well received, it was crazy,” and they have to be careful not to overbook. She said people -- especially in large groups -- should make reservations in advance to make sure there are open fields when they get there. She also said advance bookings will speed up the check-in process, which involves certified training for newcomers and donning proper protective gear, and the paintball guns, which are available at Gobble Gully, although some paintball shooters have their own gear and guns.
Butler said Gobble Gully is working with parks, recreation facilities and other parish attractions to boost the local economy. A way of doing that is agreeing to have links to those attractions on the Gobble Gully web page.
Gobble Gully attracts children as young as five, who are specially trained, and the facility is the nation’s first to provide low-impact paintball guns and fields. Butler said people who manage the paintball fields make sure different age groups are not mixed together. Also, free water is available at water stations in the fields, and there is a snack bar, and public rest rooms, in Gobble Gully’s main building.
Gobble Gully hires nearly 20 young people to play different roles, such as zombies, or to act as referees at the facility, when groups of 20 to 30 visit, as far as from 70 to 80 miles away. Visitors typically stay at Gobble Gully for two and a half to three hours. Up to about 300 people can go through the facility per day.
Butler said she and her husband are planning special events for the future, such as a “battle of the sexes,” and a “rumble in the jungle” where people will camp overnight, and participants will include commanders who will use maps in radio-equipped command centers.
The owners have contacted Brodie Ardoin, the Opelousas architect who designed the new parish library, to design a water park at Gobble Gully. Only five of the nearly 30 acres available have been developed. They also plan to start adding outdoor lighting in the fields.
Later during the chamber meeting Wednesday, Dr. Tojo Ward briefed the chamber members about economic development in the parish, including a donation of $10,000 from Pine Prairie Energy to the Industrial Development Board and another donation from Wal-Mart. “I hope other companies follow suit,” he said. Ward said he is seeking out businesses and any organizations that want to discuss or implement economic development strategies.
Camille Fontenot, chamber director, said Ville Platte needs another hotel because she often has to turn large groups away sometimes due to lack of hotel rooms locally. “I don’t want to send them to Eunice,” she said.
She also said a local developer is clearing land on the north side of Industrial Park Road, just west of Tate Cove Road, that will be used as storage for large industries in the parish. The facility also will have a large conference space. Fontenot said groups of 45 to 60 visitors -- drug company or home health care representatives, for example -- could be expected to use the conference space.