Airsoft shooting venue opens inside Rigby’s iconic sugar factory

Ammon Howard is part-owner of Advanced Airsoft successful Rigby, an indoor airsoft shooting venue wrong nan aged sweetener mill successful Rigby. See what it’s for illustration successful nan video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Do you want to cognize what’s happening successful nan eastbound Idaho business scene? We’ve sewage you covered. Here is simply a rundown of this week’s business news crossed nan valley.

BIZ BUZZ

RIGBY

New Rigby airsoft venue to person seasonal haunted attraction

Ammon Howard poses for a photograph wrong his airsoft shooting venue. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

RIGBY – Ammon Howard’s favourite puerility activity is now a full-time business venture.

The 32-year-old man from Lewisville (a mini organization northwest of Rigby) is part-owner of a caller airsoft weapon shop and shooting venue successful Rigby. It’s called Advanced Airsoft, and it’s wrong a 4,500-square-foot abstraction astatine nan aged sweetener mill astatine 418 North 4014 East, Ste. 6.

It’s an indoor venue pinch enclosed spaces truthful customers tin person airsoft shootouts pinch friends and family. A assortment of guns are disposable for rent aliases purchase. See what it’s for illustration successful nan video above.

Howard is besides part-owner of an outdoor shooting venue successful Lewisville, which opened astir 4 years agone connected six-acres crossed from Idahoan Foods astatine 529 North 3500 East. He owns nan business pinch Joseph Sevy, a lawman for nan Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The indoor abstraction opened past December and it’s go a celebrated spot for nan sheriff’s agency to clasp active-shooter trainings.

The haunted attraction, The Factory: Escape nan Infection, will unfastened Sept. 13 and will tally done nan first play of November.

“Our unfastened play wherever we person 30 aliases 40 group successful present will beryllium curtailed while we person nan haunted attraction,” Howard tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Howard grew up playing pinch paintball guns earlier discovering airsoft successful precocious school. He says airsoft guns person evolved complete nan years to look much realistic, and are much affordable than paintball guns.

“As nan airsoft guns person go much precocious and cooler, airsoft has grown (in popularity). I transitioned complete to that because it’s cleaner and a small little expensive,” he says.

Since merging nan 2 locations into 1 business past November, Howard says nan clientele has dramatically increased.

“Any fixed week, we person betwixt 60 and 80 group who will travel retired and play airsoft astatine our venues,” he says.

The Sugar Factory lends itself to an airsoft venue, Howard says, because it tin withstand nan changeless firing of BBs. It was astir precocious owned by Jorgensen Cabinets adjacent door. Howard isn’t judge what was location earlier that.

The Beet Growers Sugar Association bought nan building successful 1924. It was 1 of respective sweetener factories successful Idaho astatine nan time, according to a written history. It functioned successful this capacity until 1939, earlier it was converted into a sweetener retention facility.

Its history arsenic an aged sweetener mill prompted Howard to see that successful nan sanction of nan business.

“We telephone this location ‘The Factory.’ Colloquially, nary 1 says they’re going to Advantage Airsoft, they opportunity they’re going to play astatine nan factory,” Howard explains. “It has awesome bones. It has everything you could ever want for this benignant of venue.”

Airsoft weapon disposable astatine Advanced Airsoft successful Rigby. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Howard is grateful to nan community’s consequence complete nan past year. He’s hoping to yet build it retired to see further rooms and move nan shop to this building to consolidate nan cognition and service much patrons.

“Rather than 2 days a week, nan section tin beryllium unfastened 5 days a week,” he says. “If I had a vision, it would beryllium for this to go a awesome hobby athletics … for nan younker of Rigby, arsenic good arsenic Idaho Falls, Rexburg and nan 2 colleges astir arsenic well.”

For much accusation aliases to book a reservation, visit nan website aliases Facebook page.

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