GoldEagle Indoor CQB Field at Discover Mills Mall Review

Today was my first experience playing at GoldEagle Airsoft in Discover Mills Mall, and I first have to say that this is a quality field with lots of fun action.

Details:

Location- It is located just off of Sugarloaf Pkwy on I85. Inside the mall it is right next door to Sun and Ski Sport. Best way to actually get there is go into Bass Pro and when you get out of Bass Pro take a right and it's just down the corridor.

Field- The quality of the field is very good. Bunkers are all made of Blandex and 2x4's, save for the tires and barrels. The construction of the bunkers is also top notch. I noticed only 1 nail that was sticking out. The construction of the bunkers has pros as well as cons. First it is very durable and the con that David thought of was the sound, but that can also be good for determining if you are under pressure.

The set-up is also pretty much symmetrical in that it is not one sided. BigD said "At times it seems like there is too much cover, and at the same time there isn't enough" (paraphrased). Which to me evidence to depth in cover/bunker strategy.

The whole floor is covered in laminate hardwood, which is excellent for slides and also not too hard on the knees. And the walls are covered in camo tarp and there is also thick white netting hung for a "dead box" or to section off the store. There is also a window which shoppers can stop and see airsoft in action. BigD especially liked this so he could get some good power slides right in front and strike a pose or too.

The only real bad thing I have to say about the field is lack of differing elevation in bunkers. There is one floor and everything is on it. Also the tallest bunkers are only about 6'6" tall, but that's okay if you are tall enough to see over them

Administration- The administration of the field is one aspect that I was least impressed with. First off they did not chrono the guns like they should have, and with cqb this, I believe, is a must. Sure I told them my MP5 was stock, but I could easily lie. They did not have much enforcement of the rules, masks were constantly being taken off on the field, shooting between rounds was common, and the rules were not thoroughly explained prior to people playing, and seeing as there were many noobies there I think this is inexcusable as well. The refs were also teenagers, and acted as such, not very professional.

Rentals- All rentals were JG MP5's with one high cap, 1 uncomfortable Paintball mask, and 1000 bb's. (They do allow shemaghs/Balaclavas with full seal goggles so it's all good next time.) There were many guns available for rent and many batteries. The service with rentals was very good.

Overview- This really is a good field with loads of potential. BigD and I both had a very good experience with the 7 hours that we spent there. I will recommend anyone who is interested to go and play there
Pros: Indoor CQB, Air Conditioning, Good Field construction, Good prices, Good service especially when BigD's gun went down, They'll charge your battery for you, pretty good atmosphere, well set up field with shooting angles kept in mind, tons of potential
Cons: Poor reffing and enforcement of rules

Grade: A-

Quick note, you must have you gun in a bag or case when walking through the mall.

OHHH its a gold eagle place? I played at the old place a while back, it was ok

i had a great time. i concur with njsc's evaluation of the field. Administration was poor, but the pros by far out weigh the cons. One problem i have is that you get a 1000 bag of bbs with field fee, but after that it was $6/1000 round bag. this is somewhat annoying, but is easy to get around if you are dishonest enough . By far the best part is that it is cheap. $16 for up to 12 hours of play, providing you have your own mask and gun. Rental is not much more, at $30 for up to 12 hours. the noise was a bit much due to all the wooden bunkers and the echo that come with anything above a whisper when indoors. This can be a serious detriment to team communication, but then again nearly everyone is within line of sight so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Is there alot of experienced players who play there, or alot of springers and a bunch of little kids? People have talked about that alot.

It was a mix, leaning heavily toward inexperienced players. More than half of the people seemed to be people who walked by, thought "hey, that looks fun," rented a gun (jg mp5s) and played. due to this there were no springers as primaries, and a few spring pistols and a bolt action rifle or two. There were enough players with skill, renters or not, to make the games challenging and fun.

BigD wrote:It was a mix, leaning heavily toward inexperienced players. More than half of the people seemed to be people who walked by, thought "hey, that looks fun," rented a gun (jg mp5s) and played. due to this there were no springers as primaries, and a few spring pistols and a bolt action rifle or two. There were enough players with skill, renters or not, to make the games challenging and fun.

Awesome! I might want to go and check it out. Can you give me address of the mall?

Wait I think there was one noob who was using a springer as a primary... oh wait it was BigD

NJSC wrote:Wait I think there was one noob who was using a springer as a primary... oh wait it was BigD

I owned with that spring pistol.

They can't do any higher walls than 5'9" because of the firecodes, anything that high requires expensive fire retardant paint, and if the install any roofs over the structures, each must have a sprinkler system.

As for the lighting, they can't dim all of the lights because there is only off and on. but why not try off and bring in some shop lights & floods to dim the place?

But I agree the rules need to be enforced better. One guy even said that a older ref would have worked rather a 16 yr old trying to tell a bunch of 11 yr olds what the rules are.

I really enjoyed my time there as well. And I agree, they don't put up much safety rules. I went with my CA M16, and i told the guy what I had, and he said, "whatver, your good." But the ref I really liked, cause he charged my Battery for free, let me use my own BB's, and let me use his SCAR and Glock when my gun broke

NJSC wrote:
BigD especially liked this so he could get some good power slides right in front and strike a pose or too.

Haha and yeah, I did that a couple of times too

cool. that looks like fun. i wanna try

This place sounds sick! I never get tired of CQB airsoft, so I think IC will have to give this one a go

Made an entire new post for the field, as it's quite a doozy. I'm sorry, if you want to merge them, I won't be hurt, but the post is a bit on the darker side, whereas this one seems to be a bit more positive, so I made it separate.

I vote we take a MAA group up there!!!

{ACE}Steve-o wrote:I vote we take a MAA group up there!!!

Sangster's post added to the reasons while i will never go there.

I posted that right before i read his post....nvm...lets not go.

Yes everyone, go read Sangster's post above this thread, I will never play at Gold Eagle, not after hearing all those bad cons and the bad service.

navyseal1000 wrote:Yes everyone, go read Sangster's post above this thread, I will never play at Gold Eagle, not after hearing all those bad cons and the bad service.

Keep in mind this was this places FIRST TOURNAMENT. the bad service is limited only to the manager, all the refs and other employees are helpful and courteous. I don't like such blatant hatred toward a part of the airsoft community (whether we like it or not!) and encourage all to experience the place for yourself. Read the review on this forum and you'll see that Golden Eagle can be insanely fun or insanely not. If you write it off before playing there, it is like you re saying a movie that you have only heard of is an awful movie.

BigD wrote:

navyseal1000 wrote:Yes everyone, go read Sangster's post above this thread, I will never play at Gold Eagle, not after hearing all those bad cons and the bad service.

Keep in mind this was this places FIRST TOURNAMENT. the bad service is limited only to the manager, all the refs and other employees are helpful and courteous. I don't like such blatant hatred toward a part of the airsoft community (whether we like it or not!) and encourage all to experience the place for yourself. Read the review on this forum and you'll see that Golden Eagle can be insanely fun or insanely not. If you write it off before playing there, it is like you re saying a movie that you have only heard of is an awful movie.

I agree to try it before you dis it, but If some kid gets hurt i can see the local news there sayin Airsoft is killing your children
our beloved sport does not need a black eye from this place

BigD wrote:

navyseal1000 wrote:Yes everyone, go read Sangster's post above this thread, I will never play at Gold Eagle, not after hearing all those bad cons and the bad service.

Keep in mind this was this places FIRST TOURNAMENT. the bad service is limited only to the manager, all the refs and other employees are helpful and courteous. I don't like such blatant hatred toward a part of the airsoft community (whether we like it or not!) and encourage all to experience the place for yourself. Read the review on this forum and you'll see that Golden Eagle can be insanely fun or insanely not. If you write it off before playing there, it is like you re saying a movie that you have only heard of is an awful movie.

Blatant Hatred? The guy accused a young lady of being a thief, and all I did was write up a forum post about it. That's not hatred, thats the least of what I could of done, considering that they were in violation of their insurance on an exponential scale. I've still got a wound that was bleeding from an indoor course. That's absurd.

It was their FIRST and the LAST I will be attending. I said that my opinion did not reign supreme, but anyone who knows or cares about safety would do their best to steer clear, or try to help them out.

Also, using movies as a reference was a bad idea, because movies don't have the potential to put someone's eye out due to negligence. Lets call apples, apples.

It's ludacris you would encourage people to go play at a place so poorly managed, just so they can "see it for themselves"

Here's a thought, maybe they'll "get shot in the face in the briefing room" too!

I would define going on a rant in every forum you can find hatred. Blatant may not be the best word, and for that I do apologize, but that's all you are doing, going on a rant. If i have had go experiences there, why should I not inform the community of this, just as you did of your bad experience. I simply am stating an opinion, just as you are with your recommendation not to play there. Yes, we all know that the owner is an a-hole, and I know FOR A FACT that members of the airsoft community are meeting with the management and refs at golden eagle, in order to address the serious safety lapses. After this happens, why not go to see if it has improved?