Now that you know where you are placing your laser tag center, designing the facility will be the next step to ensure success.

It is a generally acceptable rule-of-thumb that an arena should be 150 - 200 square feet per number of lasers with a minimum of 2500 - 3000 square feet. This is based only on the footprint; this does not include ramps or second levels. The industry average for arena size is 5000 square feet. This measurement does not include briefing or vesting.

Many people who research the industry do not give a great deal of consideration to the actual design of the arena and that can be a fatal mistake. The playability, layout, and placement of bases, targets and interactive arena devices are crucial to your customers overall game enjoyment.

The ILTA takes a strong stance that a facility should be professionally designed. The failure rate for non-professionally designed laser tag and laser game centers is by far higher than those who enlisted the help of trained professionals.

The industry statistic also seem to confirm this position - facilities that build their own arena are 200% more likely to close within their first three years then those facilities that had professional arena designers layout the structure.

Professional arena designers work with your general contractor as well as the electricians and other craftsmen in developing the best playing field for your business. In addition, they have interacted with numerous fire marshals and building inspectors throughout the world.

There is a universal trend in our industry; it is the growing importance and success of the effective use of Themeing. A center needs to "WOW!!" the guest immediately upon entry. Professional arena designer’s offer may different types of themes.

Zone Systems and Laser Shots have always utilized themeing as part of their marketing mix. DarkLight has been using their Hex Arena since 1993. Megazone, Laser Chaser, Intersphere and Laserforce all emphasize the importance of using themed environments with their equipment.

Themeing can be as diverse as an Aztec Temple to a Star Base Rebellion to Medieval Castles. Your imagination (and your budget) helps determine the theme. Let the arena designer be aware of what you envision and make sure that you get conceptuals of the proposed facility so that all parties are on the same page.

Yet, some people desire to save these costs and attempt to build their own playing field. The ILTA has book written by Tom Clark entitled Building Your Own Laser Tag Arena available for sale for only $60.00 USD. You can order the book on-line or through our mail in form.