Grapevine PD Getting One-Of-A-Kind Indoor Shooting Range
GRAPEVINE (CBSDFW.COM) - The Grapevine Police Department is set to receive the country's only shooting facility that uses full cinema-sized digital projection screens and live fire. The city is purchasing the American Sportsman Shooting Center from Aimpoint Holding Inc. for $2.3 million.
The acquisition was approved by the Grapevine City Council in February.
Video projection screens used by other police agencies typically involve laser firearms, the Grapevine PD explained. However, the live fire range allows officers to train using their own weapons and live ammunition, in any law enforcement scenario that can be imagined -- including active shooter drills.
The video is projected directly onto a cinema-sized screen which measures 12 feet tall by 30 feet wide. Along with this 25-yard range, the center offers a separate 100-yard underground rifle zeroing facility which includes electronic scoring and a shooting simulator for skills development.
Not only that, but the new facility is located indoors. "While our current outdoor range is only utilized during the day, the new indoor facility will allow officers to train during various shifts, and regardless of weather," explained Chief Eddie Salame with the Grapevine PD.
The department's existing outdoor range will be closed in the coming months. Partnering law enforcement agencies which had previously been allowed to train at the outdoor range will continue to be permitted to train at the new facility. The new center will not be open to the public.
The facility was originally constructed in Grapevine as a location for Aimpoint Holding Inc. to build and develop their training technology. But the company opted not to expand the concept nationwide, and offered the center first to the City of Grapevine as a thanks for the hospitality shown during the project.
Aimpoint Holding Inc. is working with the Grapevine PD on a smooth transition as the facility is adapted for law enforcement training, providing support before the city takes full ownership of the American Sportsman Shooting Center on Monday. The purchase includes the facility, surrounding land, range software and hardware, and other equipment.
