http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffa...l?surround=lfn

Ralph Wilson Stadium will serve as the backdrop for the National Professional Paintball League's first-ever tournament in the Buffalo Niagara region.

The tournament is set for July 18 to 20 in the parking lots around the stadium. The event is expected to attract more than 150 paintball teams that equates to more than 2,000 participants. The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau pegs the economic impact from the tournament at more than $500,000.

Buffalo was selected over the Boston area, said Jessica Macias, marketing and media coordinator for the paintball league, because of several factors, including its proximity to Canada.

"Being so close to Canada was important to us, but so was being in a new market," Macias said.

The Ralph Wilson Stadium tournament is the third the paintball league has run this year. The first, in Huntington Beach, Calif., attracted more than 80,000 spectators while one that was held in Jacksonville, Fla., drew more than 50,000 people.

"It's not unrealistic to see 30,000 people come to the Buffalo tournament," Macias said.

The local tournament will include teams from Mexico, Sweden and Aruba.

Portions of the tournament will be taped by Fox Sports Network and air as part of the league's coverage.

During the tournament, seven-man teams will traverse a field that's only slightly smaller than a football field, trying to hit opposing players with a paintball. Once hit, a player is eliminated from the game.

"Think of it as sort of a capture the flag game," Macias said.

Five playing fields with obstacles and other diversions will be set up around the stadium.