Image Credit: Kamloops Speedball Association / Facebook

By Victor Kaisar

Speedball Facility

Agricultural Land Commission asked to approve plans for new speedball facility in Kamloops

Jul 20, 2025 | 12:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — A plan to build a recreational speedball facility at the Tournament Capital Ranch in Kamloops will be going before the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for approval.

Kamloops City Council cleared the way for the proposal to move to the ALC at their meeting Tuesday (July 15). The provincial approval is needed as a recreational facility is not a permitted use for properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

“The main reason we’re here is because [the property] is located within the Agricultural Land Reserve,” Marvin Kwiatkowski, the City’s Development, Engineering and Sustainability Director, said Tuesday.

“If we go back to 2007, there was an approval for non-farm use use of the Tournament Capital Ranch but it included the fields and did not include the entirety of the property.”

Speedball – which can best be described as competitive form of paintball – is a team game that’s been around since the 1990s. It has grown in popularity, with organized teams, leagues, and tournaments.

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“The location here would be a great fit integrating into the existing recreational infrastructure and provide economic, health, and social benefits to the community,” Kwiatkowski said.

“The facility would provide a space for training camps, tournaments and participation from youth association members and the community at large, and really increase sports options and enhance our status as Canada’s Tournament Capital.”

Location of the proposed speedball facility at the Tournament Capital Ranch. (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

The Kamloops Speedball Association has been looking for a facility since 2020, and in 2021 it presented a proposal to the city’s Parks Engagement Group that sought to set up the new facility at the Tournament Capital Ranch.

“Unfortunately, there are no regulated speedball fields located in the Interior. Local teams have nowhere to practice, which puts them at a major disadvantage for tournaments,” a June 28, 2022 City of Kamloops staff report said.

In 2022, Kamloops councillors also voted to amend the city’s Firearms Control Bylaw to allow the discharge of paintball guns at designated speedball facilities.

Councillor Bill Sarai asked about potential environment concerns in the event that paintballs are shot into the nearby North Thompson River whether intentionally or otherwise.

Kwiatkowski said that the paintballs that will be used are water based, noting it may have been a concern flagged by the ALC if the paintballs were oil-based. He also noted that all nets, barriers, and other equipment installed at the facility will be temporary in nature.

As well, Andrew Smeaton, the City’s Business Operations and Events Supervisor, said all speedball games on site will be supervised by a referee.

“If anyone was to say aim their paintball marker up over the netting, they would be ejected from the game,” he said. “There’s always controls in place, and they’ve given us sufficient evidence that they would use this site safely.”

“They also have given us evidence that their paintball devices are all biodegradable and able to be cleaned up so that the land could be returned to farm use very easily.”

Proposed layout of Kamloops speedball facility in Rayleigh. (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

If the application clears the ALC, the City of Kamloops is expected to enter into a five-year lease with the Kamloops Speedball Association, with the option for a five-year extension.

“The location of the facility on municipal land and nominal lease amount would reduce operations costs and support the Kamloops Speedball Association in its goal of providing affordable recreation programs,” a City of Kamloops staff report said.