Trouble finding a location

[Wyqued]

I have a troupe of LARPers who run a monthly game. Our current venue is no longer, and we now need to look for a new place to play. I am having a lot of difficulty finding a place however. I live in a largish city (portland oregon) but everyone wants either thousands of dollars for a deposit, or insurance or some such nonsense.

How did you find the place you run LARP? We open to the public, so gaming in our private homes and inviting people you've never met is a little out of the question, thus the need for a nice public space.

[Gath]

I have had a bad time with locations. That is what is holding up my LARP right now.
The cost of the weekend rental of a summer camp is usually pretty steep, and the insurance policy for the year was another major cost per event. We have to have the players sign a "hold Harmless agreement" that states that they will not sue the game, or the site owner if they get hurt. The insurance should cover any injuries if they occur, and safety is a major part of the rules.
I find that the best way to handle the renting is to not to mention the game first off. Refer to the weekend as an event, Do not refer to the weekend as a game, LARP, Live Action Roleplaying, fantasy roleplaying game, or any combination of those. Be honest about what the event is, but not to forthcoming with the description

[Wyqued]

Well, we don't do boffer really, so there isn't a whole lot about getting hurt and whatnot, but I have been looking at places saying we're an acting troupe looking for event space.

No luck so far *sigh* we HAD an excellent location, but it ended up falling through because the guy decided not to rent the place anymore.

[Glen_MoP]

We've used city parks for day events and either state parks or private camp grounds for weekend events. Bible camps seem to be especially low priced.

[Gath]

Most Bible camps that we have approached are automatically closed off to us when we explained the event to them.
The 4-H camp that we used was not concerned with what we were doing, as long as we paid for the weekend usage of the camp. Then they decided to do more "things for the children", which translated into "less things involving LARPs".

[Glen_MoP]

Building relationships with campgrounds is important. An important part of this is marketing yourself to them in a positive way that aligns with their beliefs. We've had a lot of luck dealing with bible camps as well as other camp grounds.

[Gath]

Our biggest hinderance in finding a location is the lack of camps in the area. The nearest camps are often located over an hour away and a few of the Boy Scout and 4H camps were unable to stay in business. I would think that this close to the Adirondacks there would be more sites available.

[Warfield]

They wll rent to you and you can start a venturering crew and get very in expensive camps and access to many people who might be interested in what you do.
_________________
"Are you Sharded?"
www.sharded.com

[KTjia]

Gath,

Perhaps you could provide a few more details?

How many people do you have (on average) at your events?

What kind of facilities do you require for your events to occur? (Do you need beds, washrooms, kitchen facilities, running water, etc).

What style of event do you run?

Do you prefer an indoor location, an outdoor location, or a location with both venues available?

How long do your events normally run?

I have a few ideas but I can cater them to your needs with a little more details.
_________________
Kevin Tjia

[Eldrad]

There could be an old Warehouse or closed down store you could rent for a weekend. With a bit of imagination it could easily become an underdark adventure.
_________________
I know the pieces fit! I watched them fall away!

[Gath]

[Eldrad]

Does not upstate New York have really cheap land out in the wilderness?

I had a friend who bought 20 acres and a house for nearly nothing $15,000-$20,000 a few hours out of NYC.

Have not spoke to him in years but his mom now lives on the deer filled property now.

INSTEAD of buying you could go out of town and lease the property per year. This is always a cheaper option and last as long as the lease does.
_________________
I know the pieces fit! I watched them fall away!

[Gath]

Eldrad,
Undeveloped land can be had for a better price than developed land. That works as well in Northern NY as it does anywhere. Even a place with a "fixer-upper" can be found for a steal, due to the cost of repairs on any existing structures or the cost of removal of a condemned structure.

My problem stems from a lack of capital to invest in the purchase of land for my game, and the inability to find a location that I can lease or rent. Most locations hear Live Action Role-Playing game and they automatically start to think of satanic rituals and long red robes (I have actually been told that that is why we would not be rented to).

I am looking for a site that I can either lease or rent, but I cannot find one close enough to where I live to be able to operate the game efficiently.

The concern with buying land is that this close to the Adirondacks it is often hard to get permission to build in a wooded area. Even the small cabins that would comprise a village have a negative ecological impact. Then running electrical and water to a site for showers and such, forget about it. I have all sorts of plans for a LARP park that is designed to be used year 'round for all manner of LARPS. I am working on a few different genres as time allows. I would need a source of investment capital to even begin to consider that.

[KyleS]

Create a BSA troop of a Venture crew. Do good, solid community service and help clean up and maintain whatever BSA campground you rent/use.

The LARP I'm affiliated with has been doing this for years. We all have BSA insurance, and a great site.

LARP is a great thing for building several skills that the BSA gladly endorses. So long as you have a good group of folks, you'll find that working with the BSA can be great for site access and dependability.

[Gath]

That is not a bad idea. While I was deployed to Iraq, a BSA group down South was using my game as a theme for their Jamboree. I know that that group age likes the events.

I was disappointed in that they had taken everything, even the name and was running an event like it was their own. I had done a Google search and their event came up before my own website on the list! What a kick in the teeth that was.

I asked them to cease and desist and then suggested a franchise opportunity. They never responded, but they had the site off the internet the same day. But, I digress...

How did you go about organizing the Venture crew? I was the Cub Master of the local Cub Scout Troop many years ago, so I know many of the Scouters in the area. We never dealt with the Venture crews, although we were aware that the existed.

P.S. Thanks for the suggestion. I was looking for a way to get the BSA involved in the hopes of using one of their sites in the Adirondacks.