Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The World's Only Magazine Devoted Exclusively to the Business of Bowling.
Citation preview
4
6THE ISSUE AT HAND
Sign of the timesBy Scott Frager
8SHORTS
Flooring acustomer...a convincing
clinic...ship ahoy...and peoplewatching
10CENTER STAGEYou can take the
boy out of New York,but –
14COMPASS POINTS
A league of sensible men(and women)
Dillingham, Alaskahas no bowling center, butwhat’s that got to do withhaving a bowling league?
18PROFILE
Blotting for oilThe mystery of a
dirty bowling towel, andhow it started a business
29
CONTENTS
22COVER STORYThe good life of aworking reporterHerbert Bickel, hisadventures, and hisBowlingdigital.By Fred Groh
29PROFILEIn Lyons’ denAnother visionary joins theindustry.By Gregory Keer
32OFF THE CLOCKHorses of adifferent colorAnd that’s not all that’sdifferent about them.
46REMEMBER WHEN1953Notice anything oddabout this particularbowling night?
36 Showcase
38 Datebook
39 Classifieds
VOL 18.5THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
IBI May 2010
18
22
PUBLISHER & EDITORScott Frager
[email protected]: scottfrager
MANAGING EDITORFred Groh
OFFICE MANAGERPatty Heath
CONTRIBUTORSGregory Keer
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTVictoria Tahmizian
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTIONDesignworks
www.dzynwrx.com(818) 735-9424
FOUNDERAllen Crown (1933-2002)
13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 789-2695(BOWL)Fax (818) 789-2812
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy ofInternational Bowling Industry is sent free toevery bowling center, independently ownedpro shop and collegiate bowling center inthe U.S., and every military bowling centerand pro shop worldwide. Publisher reservesthe right to provide free subscriptions tothose individuals who meet publicationqualifications. Additional subscriptions maybe purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50per year. Subscriptions for Canada andMexico are $65 per year, all other foreignsubscriptions are $80 per year. All foreignsubscriptions should be paid in U.S. fundsusing International Money Orders.POSTMASTER: Please send new as well asold address to International Bowling Industry,13245 Riverside Drive, Suite 501, ShermanOaks, CA 91423 USA. If possible, pleasefurnish address mailing label.Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2010, B2B Media,Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprintedwithout the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
6 IBI May 2010
THE ISSUE AT HAND
Sign of the times
Log on towww.BowlingIndustry.com and add yoursign to our collection.You also earn achance to win anMLB jersey.
There is the light at the end of a tunnel, and there is the light cast by bowling street signs that grace thefacades, roofs and frontage roads of our centers.
I was thinking about both kinds of light the other day while I was previewing another slew of street signphotos sent for posting on our website, www.BowlingIndustry.com (see below). We’re running a slide showon the site where you can experience more than four-dozen signs (so far) in all their beauty, novelty and humor.Signs of every shape and size that blink, flicker and smile at passersby on adjacent streets, roads and highways.
I’m especially drawn to the signs from years ago. Once high-fashion, they’re now high nostalgia, a retrofeeling, a recalling of bygone days. Whether those days were really ideal or simplyromanticized fancies fueled by our imaginations, who can look at a retro bowlingsign hanging above a center entrance and not think “Americana”?
“Air conditioned,” say some of them, or “automatic scoring inside.” Bothare dead giveaways of a center’s birth era.
And what’s a bowling sign without a pin? How many ways have designersfound to get ball and pin together in a street sign? It’s endlessly fascinating.
It’s also fun to see how designs have changed through the years. Wehaven’t arranged our slide show in chronological order, but you will find signsof every style trend. Some with starbursts, triangles or wings look like the 1950s
to me. Others have a high-tech appearance that says 21st century. Still others are plain and unadorned.Some signs come from historic centers, like the original Mid-City Lanes (“Home of Rock ’n’ Bowl”) and
66 Bowl, located on that famous highway.Some offer friendly advice, like “Stay out of the gutter” (Lucky Strike).One sign features a pin crashing out through the exterior wall.We even have some signs now immortalized in the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.It was while I was looking over another batch of signs to add to our slide show
that the phrase “light at the end of the tunnel” popped to mind. I thought, “That’sjust what these signs have been for many years for many people across America.A place to come to, to be with neighbors and friends, to take some time out fromthe daily grind for laughs, camaraderie and sport.”
What do our signs say as a group? Our industry lights are on and we’ve rolledout the welcome mat.
.– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
�THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com
8 IBI May 2010
SHORTSSHORT
Nancy Suprenant retired in April after 36years as NAIR executive secretary. Servingunder 17 presidents during her tenure, herconnection with the organization goes backto preliminary meetings before NAIR wasformally launched in 1972.
IBI contributing writer Lydia Rypcinskihas been named for this year’s Luby Hall ofFame Award of the Bowling WritersAssociation of America. Rypcinski was citedfor 30 outstanding years in journalism thathave seen her work in the Chicago Sun-Times, Associated Press and Asian GamesNews Service. She has been media
PEOPLEWATCHING
Nancy Suprenant
Lydia Rypcinski
coordinator for the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup andmedia director for PWBA. Among many other honors,Rypcinski won Writer of the Year five times from the NationalWomen Bowling Writers Association.
John Berglund was tagged for BWAA’sAlberta Crowe Meritorious Service Award,honoring his off-lanes dedication to thesport. As BPAA executive director 2002-2009, Berglund emerged as a major industrycatalyst, notably in the establishing of theInternational Bowling Campus. He was E.D.of the Minnesota Licensed BeverageAssociation in the 1980s and of theMinnesota BPA, 1998-2002.
John Berglund
How to Floor a Customer
eight hours. Eight of the lanes remain set up forevents all summer.
Torvick reports he is typically hosting events for250-350, but he says he could accommodate 500. Ifhe used his concourse as well, he could fit in even more.
The floor has made quite an improvement inTorvick’s summers compared to when Joeleen wasn’tmarried. From May through August of this year, onlytwo weekends remain to be booked. “A summerSaturday, if we were lucky, used to make $500,” he says.“Now it’s anywhere between $3,000 and $6,000.”
Dean Torvick always hoped one of his kids would get married in hisbowling center, Concordia Lanes in New Ulm, MN. And when daughterJoeleen decided to tie the knot, there was no rental room around thatcould accommodate 300 or 400 people. So Torvick took matters ontohis own lanes.
Installing a floor over his bowlers’ area, approaches and lanes beginsby removing the capping. That leaves a gap of 1/8 inch between thecapping support boards and the lanes. Torvick walked around his localHome Depot and decided quarter-inch fiberglass insulation wouldcompact to the thickness he needed to fill the gap and protect the lanesat the same time.
On top of the insulation, he laid half-inch OSB board. Over that, he putdown Event Deck portable flooring.
That’s it, except for decorations and collapsible tables that cover theball returns and are used for beverages, hors d’oeuvres and the like.
Assembling the floor for all 16 lanes in the house takes four people
Dean and Joeleen
9IBI May 2010
SHORTSGOT BETTERGAME?
Pretty hard to think of a better come-on: improve your score or the clinic costsyou nothing; otherwise it’s $10 a head,including the bowling. A legitimateinducement, too, since it came fromMike Leong, who used to run a pro shopat Serra Bowl in Palo Alto, CA, and nowmanages the place.
As the pro shop man 20 years ago,Leong guaranteed to get any player upto 180 or better in six weeks. Nobodyasked him for a refund back in the day. At
his two-day clinic recently, when bowlerspaid only afterward and only if they weresatisfied, no one stiffed him.
Leong ran the clinic from 6 to 8:30p.m. when he had plenty of lanesavailable, and estimates the turnout at 48.He watched each bowler, then steppedin with 5-10 minutes of tips at a time; heworked with each bowler at least fivetimes. It tallied up to about three-quartersof an hour of expert instruction thatdidn’t cost the player a cent unless theplayer was satisfied that his game wasbetter at the end of it.
Leong did have one tough customer.A seven-year-old boy who couldn’t gethis hand into the ball. He did improve atkeeping the ball on the lane, though.
OVER THE BOUNDING MAIN
Not too bounding, wehope, since that mightaffect ball trajectory. Still,how many cruise ships havefull-size regulation lanesaboard? Norwegian CruiseLine’s Norwegian Gem, atwo-year-old hosting 2,400cruisers, becomes the line’sBermuda sailor out of NewYork, starting May next year.
Rainbow LanesColumbus, OH (48 Lanes)
Check out our current listings atwww.SandyHansell.com.
Bowling’s Only Full-Service Brokers,Appraisers & Financial Advisors
28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076
(800) 222 • 9131
We congratulate Wayne Webband Mike Irwin on their
purchase of this fine center andthank Bob McCracken and
Rick Kennedy for trusting us tohandle the sale. We wish them
all the best in the future.
10 IBI May 2010
CENTER
STAGE
CENTER STAGE
Maybe the mottohere is, “You can takethe boy out of NewYork but you can’ttake...”–well, you know.
That’s because thehome of MLB freeagent Johnny Damon,where these two lanesare installed, is quite a
11IBI May 2010
CENTER STAGE
way south of New York, in Windemere, FL. And becauseDamon signed a four-year, $52 million pact with theYankees in 2005, which we’d bet made his time withthe New York club unforgettable. Note the YankeeStadium sign on the wall behind the couch (below right).
The installation was by United Bowling and included alighting package from The Lighting Store that can’t bedone justice by a photograph. Non-bowling folk who hada hand were Vitale Studio (St. Petersburg, FL), who didthe walls, and Aztec Scenic Design (Maitland, FL), whodid the clown. The three-dimensional face projectsoutward from the wall about three feet. ❖
14 IBI May 2010
n inspired idea, somewould say. Bill Darling andhis friends wanted a namefor their group, and it just
popped into his head. “The DillinghamBowling League.”
But seeing as how the town ofDillingham has no bowling center, itmay have been a tad of the home brewtalking. Darling, his friend Gorden Isaacs,and a dozen or so other residents ofDillingham were meeting at the time totaste-test their home-brewed beers.
Dillingham is an Alaskan hamlet(population 2,400) on Nushagak Bay,which flows into Bristol Bay, which joinsthe Bering Sea. There are no roads goingout of town. Roads in town, but theydon’t go anywhere else.
ACOMPASS POINTS
A LEAGUE OFSENSIBLE MEN(AND WOMEN)Well, the winters are long.
PHOTOS BY RON BURRUS
16 IBI May 2010
COMPASS POINTS
No movie theater, no mall, no fast food and no bowling. The downtownis two blocks.
Nearby villages are even skimpier. “Most don’t have much infrastructureat all, like grocery stores,” says Isaacs as his rocking chair squeaks when wereach him at his building supply store in Dillingham. “Some of them havea small general store but not all of them even have that. A lot of villages[have] between 50 and 300 people.”
When you want to cover the miles or get something into or out ofDillingham, you fly, like the 325 miles between Dillingham and the closestbig city, Anchorage. The nearest major hospital is there, although Dillinghamhas a six-bed facility and villages have clinics.
Flying, Isaacs says, is “a way of life here. You want to go over to the nextvillage, you jump in an air taxi. There are several one- or two-personbusinesses, that’s all they do–fly people back and forth.”
No wonder a case of Bud is $42.“We’re very remote. Having a beer now and then is kind of expensive.
So in the wintertime, when people have time, they like to [work at] hobbies,and a good indoor hobby is to brew up a batch of home brew.”
The winters are, of course, on the long side. Also frigid. All told, you haveto be tough to live here. And when the members of the Dillingham BowlingLeague adopted rules for their club, they didn’t pull punches.
Rule 1: All brewers will go by the middle name of Bob at meetings. (“Howyou been, Janet Bob...?”)
Rule 2. Deciding it would be perfectly permissible to discriminate atmeetings, the League adopted this one to make sure they would: Memberswill not own a dog who is a member of the Communist Party.
Rule 3: Socially redeeming actions are not allowed at official meetings.Rule 4, a corollary: Nothing official can happen at official meetings. Rule 5: You must like home brew or those who do.
Dillingham in summer mood.
“For the most part,” says homebrewer Gorden Isaacs, “you buy thecomponents already started: the malt,which is made out of barley; the malt,[bought] as a syrup; the hops, whichare green flowers off a vine; the yeast.You boil it and mix different varietiesof malt and hops and yeast for variousflavors.
“A home brewer typically does a 5-gallon batch. You put it in a glass 5-gallon jug, like you get bottled waterin. A little device on top called anairlock lets air out but doesn’t let anyin, so no bacteria can get in. You haveto be very careful about cleanliness soyou don’t contaminate it with anybacteria.
“You put it in the bottle and whenit gets down to the righttemperature, you add some yeastand it goes to work for a week ortwo. It bubbles away and convertsthe sugars in the malt to alcohol.After a week or two it becomes beer.Then you let it age or you can put itin a keg, which is much easier buttakes a little more equipment.Typically it’s not real good right afterit’s done fermenting; if you age it fora month or two, the flavor matures.
“I tend towards the amberbeers–not terribly strong. Once thealcohol gets to a certain level, it killsthe yeast; so there’s a limit as to how[strong] you can naturally brew thebeer–about 6% alcohol, I believe.Some strains of yeast can stand a littlehigher alcohol level, but it’s verysimilar to commercially purchasedbeer. It’s kind of fun to experimentwith the different styles and flavors.”
Brewskisin 60 Seconds:
The Lesson,That Is
17IBI May 2010
COMPASS POINTS
Rule 6. It seems word got around that League members werenot people to mess with, since Rule 6 is “probably what keptbowling alleys out of Dillingham all these years,” according toDarling, one tough hombre. “Yeah, I was pretty bad. But nomembers of [IBI] ever called and complained. Amazing!” TheLeague was really hardnosed about Rule 6, he says: Members arenot allowed to bowl in Dillingham.
For their ramrod obedience to the mandates and the quality oftheir brews, members have been known to depart the meetings withtrophies. The mementoes “kept getting worse as the years wentby,” Darling brags, until one year in the middle of a contest theynoticed there weren’t any trophies at all.
“I went downstairs, found small pieces of old used plywood anda Magic Marker and some clear plastic like you wrap houses in orput down for drop cloths. Cut long strips for the ribbon, put thatat the bottom. Magic Markered the name of the person who gotit and what category it was in—[e.g.,] First Place Amber. And theyhad a piece of used plywood to put on their wall.”
Sadly, club members were not as successful in getting hold ofgenuine acetate bowling shirts. Meetings were therefore ratherinformal.
On the other hand, the league was pretty good at PR. Dillinghamhas the only radio station in a radius of 350 miles and a localannouncer was more than obliging. That may have been connectedwith the fact that he was one of the judges of the tasting contests.
“Everybody that knew about the home brew club begged to bejudges,” Darling swears. “We’d probably get four or five peoplein the community that knew about us or wanted to know about us,and allowed them to judge.”
The announcer would be guaranteed to blurb a meeting of theDillingham Bowling League on Friday at 7:30.
He wouldn’t say where the meeting was, but after all, Isaacs madesome signs that he stuck out front when meetings were due:“Bowling League Tonight.” With an arrow.
It’s been 15 years since Darling lived in Dillingham. These dayshe runs a technology consulting business for school districts andlives in Eagle River, an Anchorage suburb.
Gorden Isaacs is still in Dillingham, though, running his store,drilling water wells, doing some construction. And while theDillingham Bowling League has had its downs in recent years, it’sbounding back on a “totally intermittent basis,” Isaacs states.“Last spring we had a meeting and we’re looking forward to havinga few this winter.”
It’s a story that just goes to show how long Alaskan winters are. Or maybe it goes to show that the best part of bowling in
Alaska is the beer. ❖
Know a story about offbeat bowling? Share it onwww.BowlingIndustry.com.
18 IBI May 2010
hat’s a $78,000 boat–a 21-foot Lund with a 225Merc 4-stroke Verado engine. I had a 9.5 Veradokicker on it with a remote control trolling motor.”
“That was his baby.”“I enjoy the hell out of fishing and hunting.”“This was the first boat he’s ever been able to get.”“I sold it about two months ago. I got nowhere near half,
even a third, of what that boat was worth but I need themoney for labels, to buy bottles, to produce the product. Tobe honest with you, I’ve got my wife and the dog hocked,including my shotgun. This thing is an all-or-nothing situation.”
It was also a joke–in the beginning–Woody Woodcock says.He and his wife, Linda (commentator in the boat story above),are the creators of Zapp It Bowling Products, a line of ball-related chemical products for bowlers. The flagship item is aball cleaner certified by USBC for use during competition. Itbreaks down the oil that soaks into microscopic fissures in thecoverstock, allowing a microfiber towel to blot up the beads.
An amateur bowler who has spent thousands to improve hisgame, Woodcock says noted coach Susie Minshew woke himup to the importance of keeping his gear clean. Result, Minshewtold him: the ball rolls the same, shot after shot.
A clean ball became a lodestar for Woodcock’s game, but
he kept having trouble. He was using a cleanerthat came out of the bottle green, yet his balltowel was turning black.
The lanes are cleaned every day and can’t bethat dirty, he reasoned. He went to Wal-Mart andbought a half-dozen white hand towels. Drivingto five bowling centers between home in Dallasand Fort Worth, cleaning his balls before andafter he bowled, he found the same thing on allthe towels.
Woodcock and his wife own Unique Graphics,a company that prints labels, among otherthings, for businesses. One day he was talkinglabels with a client while another man at themeeting was talking chemicals, trying to workout a production schedule for the labels.Woodcock decided to consult the chemist aboutthe black towel mystery.
Examination of Woodcock’s 15 or 20 ballsshowed the microscopic fissures, apparentlycaused by harsh cleaning agents. Woodcockwanted to do something about the fissures forhis game. The chemist, who does research and
PROFILE
T
manufacturing for a variety of private-label products,was happy to oblige.
Woodcock started using the concoction about2004. His average climbed from around 175 to about210 in about six months. Other bowlers saw, wantedsome, and soon Woodcock was selling small bottlesof it. The pro shop manager where he bowled wasnext–or rather, his customers were.
With the Woodcocks’ background, a segue intobusiness with the cleaner was seamless. Woody andLinda both have backgrounds in sales, Woody onceowned a smoked foods business in Denver, and hestarted their graphics company 20 years ago.
These days, Woodcock has four clocks in his house,set to different time zones around the country andCanada so he can time his calls for Zapp It. The househas more than its share of boxes,bottles and filing cabinets.
Woodcock’s two dozen or so bowling balls are there somewhere.The manufacturing operation has moved out of the house, though.
As of a year ago, Woodcock was sharing plant space with the chemist.And the original Zapp It cleaner has been joined by a product thatextends shots on dry lanes and another that helps sweat-prone handsstay dry.
Manufacturing is still a one-man band except when Woodcock hasto ship around 2,000 or more bottles. The bottles are filled and labeledand the sprayers are attached by machine, but the labels and sprayersare loaded manually. For that job, he hires day labor.
He’s now shipping about 200 bottles of product a week, workingseven days a week, making about 25% of his income from the productline (graphics is still the family’s bread and butter), and feeling frustratedthat he can’t get the word out about Zapp It as fast as he’d like. A majorbowling distributor recently took on the line, which will help.
When he says, “I have so much time and money put into this that Ihave no choice but to continue forward,” he doesn’t seem to bekidding. A couple of years ago he sold his coin collection to fund thebusiness. It had taken him more than 15 years to assemble. ❖
What it takes. Files, records, invoices, orders in every nook of the house,and Woody and Linda.
Kitchen beginnings.“I bought a box of bottles andI had some labels printed andI sat here during the nightlynews wrapping bottles withlabels by hand. Then I was inthe kitchen filling them with aturkey baster. Then I wouldhand them out.”
20 IBI May 2010
PROFILE
THE GOOD LIFE OF A
WORKING REPORTER22 IBI May 2010
HERBERT BICKEL, HIS ADVENTURES, AND HIS BOWLINGDIGITAL.
23IBI May 2010
COVER STORY
’m my own boss, I travel the world, meet a lot of people, and I can workwherever I have Internet.”
Add to that a dog, a horse, a BMW roadster, and an old countryhouse in the north Germany town of Oldendorf where he lives with hisgirlfriend, Sabine.
Yes, life is good for Herbert Bickel, the jack-of-all-trades behindwww.bowlingdigital.com. This year he celebrates his first decade with thewebsite, which he owns, publishes and edits. A portal for international newsand views on the bowler side (plus archived issues of IBI), Bowlingdigitalracked up about 80 million hits and 400,000 unique visitors from more than150 countries in the past year.
Life is not quite ideal, you understand.Bickel’s footloose working life means that his office times are 24/7/365,
he says. That includes Dec. 24, 25, 26 and Jan. 1. He clocks as many as 16hours a day at major tournaments, where “first in, last out” is his reputationin the pressroom.
Once in a great while, finances can be a headache. Organizers of one editionof the World Championships have owed him $10,000 plus incentives for morethan ten years. They ran through their budget before they got to him.
And life is not especially laid back. When Bickel takes his car and he’s ina hurry, which he usually is, he likes to keep the needle past 125 (mph) onthe many stretches of German autobahn that have no speed limit.
From Germany he jets off to cover major championships around theworld such as the Men’s and Women’s World Championships, the WorldRanking Masters, and the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. He regularly goesto the Brunswick Euro Challenge in March and the Columbia 300 Vienna Openin the fall.
If you’ve seen the man unpack his gear on arrival at a pressroom, you mayremember his laptop, an external hard drive for emergencies (it backs upthe entire computer, just in case), a still camera, audio headset, assortedcables for mastering any connection challenge, and a cell phone.
Life seems to have been crowded and busy for a long while. To dot thei’s in this brief résumé, Herbert Bickel, born 1956, attended Sports Universityin Cologne, his hometown, where he pursued track and field, swimming,gymnastics, basketball, handball, volleyball, soccer – even table tennis, ridingand parachuting – and journalism.
�•�“I always had pretty good contacts, nothing to compare to today but I
always had good contacts through my job as TV commentator,” Bickel sayslooking back.
One very hot summer in his student days he was working at a publicswimming pool near the college, when employees at the local bowling centerapproached the pool staff to ask if they’d be interested in trading freeswimming for free bowling. Since the answer was yes, Bickel and his co-workers were soon bowling a lot after work and in the house league, andhe began managing the center.
Bowling was big on European TV in those ’80s and ’90s years. The PBATour, the Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour, Seniors Tour, assorted amateurtournaments–and a bowling show would be broadcast five or six times.“There was really no need to get a TV guide if you wanted to watch
By Fred Groh
Herbert Bickel, workingthe Brunswick EuroChallenge in March.
I“
24 IBI May 2010
COVER STORY
bowling. There would be some bowling sooner or later every day,”Bickel remembers.
Most of the programming came from a small network based inLondon called Screensport. And in Germany, a small BPA wantedto promote bowling and get bigger. Screensport’s bowlingcommentary didn’t seem to have a clue about bowling, accordingto Bickel, and Bickel appeared to be the only one around who hadstudied sports and journalism, knew tenpin bowling, and hadcontacts with both players and proprietors. Everything suggestedto Ferdi Janka, a wheel in the new BPA, that Bickel might be verywell positioned as an on-air man at Screensport.
Janka, who remains a power in European bowling today, swungthe deal. Bickel’s first telecast for Screensport was on June 20, 1990.
As a commentator, he got to know people in top positions atPBA, LPBT, BPAA and ABC in the U.S., Asia and Europe. With everyyear, more championships, more bowling congresses. The contactsgrew firmer, more extensive. Today he says, “You tell me thecountry and I tell you the name of my contact.”
It’s not easy to develop good contacts and even tougher to beknown for your credibility, he reflects. Those are his strengths, hebelieves. Players know that “for me, there is always a line betweenwhat I get to know in confidential conversation or what they tell meas a friend, [and what they] tell me as a writer.”
Same with proprietors – with the industry, in fact. The oneexception is bowling federation officials. He gets on well with pastand present officials such as Jerry Koenig, former FIQ president,and Kevin Dornberger, incumbent WTBA president, but Bickelsays he can count the officials on two hands he calls friends.
The feeling is mutual. “In the past ten years I have seen so manywho don’t care about bowling, don’t care about the sport, theplayers. It’s all [in having] the position. Just become the president;that’s it.”
�•�A normal working day in Bickel’s home office gets going between
6 and 7 a.m. when he checks his emailbox. He updatesBowlingdigital with news from PBA and USBC in theStates, where people are probably still working (U.S.Pacific Time is nine hours behind him), and the latest fromAsia and Australia, where folks are already up (6-12 hoursahead of him).
“I first edit press releases and write my stories. Verifyingthe scores costs a lot of time but is vital, as there areoften mistakes. After the American and Asian section isupdated, I’ll take on Europe and the other sections.”
He might scan columns from his contributing writers suchas Dick Evans, John Jowdy and Joan Taylor. He reads JimGoodwin’s Stars & Strikes online edition and perusesnewsletters from the likes of the World Tenpin BowlingAssociation. Bowling business news gets his attention aswell, having opened a section of the website for it incooperation with IBI. Some time each day, he checks in withhis webmaster, Thomas Schätzle.
“When this is done, the guys from USBC communicationsare up again and I work on the America section.
“The last thing before I’ll go to bed is checking mymailbox for the very last time.
“I have a 50MB connection in my home office in Cologne.Great for video uploads on Bowlingdigital and on YouTube.It takes about 45 seconds to upload a 50MB video onto myFTP server.” He obviously gets a kick out of that.
�•�When Bickel lands in a tournament city, he and his
paraphernalia head for the host center before he stops at
Laid-back staff at Bowlingdigital’ssummer office.
Rented pied-à-terre in Denmark for the 2005 Women’sWorld Championships. It cost less than a room at the tour-nament hotel. The autobahn flyer–a BMW Z4–is ready to go.
26 IBI May 2010
COVER STORY
the hotel. He inspects the working conditions. If he can check in late athis hotel, he defers it and sets immediately to work at the center. He hasto update his website–tough to do while in transit. It’s an orderly whirlwind.
“They give me the results. Either I take pictures or they have takensome. I talk to the players, the organizers, get my story together, writethe story, add the photos, add the results. Of course I have to edit them,
depending on my software. For example if I get theresults in Excel, I can edit each and every result so thatit fits to my website within minutes.
“The story takes the longest. In some countriesand some organizations I have to verify the scores. Youwon’t believe how often I correct the official standings.”
With this much to do, Bickel has no patience withfreeloaders or distractions in the pressroom.
“Lots of officials from the participating federations[are] accredited as press who have never written a wordabout bowling,” he says. “It has become common toget a press accreditation and to hold meetings in thepressroom, and it’s cheaper to get the food andbeverages offered to the press than to pay for it.”
He’s also insisted through the years on properworking conditions. Asked what he needs, his standardreply is: quiet, a desk, Internet access at highestpossible speed, coffee, no smoking.
So a pleasant surprise at the 2005 World RankingMasters was the hospitality of Kegel at its then-newTraining Center, the tournament venue. Writers weregiven use of the conference room, where besidesBickel’s minimum they got leather chairs, enormousspace, fruits, sandwiches and cake.
A visit with web radio’s Phantom (aka Len Nicholson) while inLake Wales, FL for the World Ranking Masters, 2005.
We’re always on the trailof news and events inthe bowling business.Help us sniff it out.If your company or association hasadded staff or promoted people; ifyou’re launching a new program,expanding, or celebrating a major event;or if you want to share your thoughts on anindustry issue, contact our editorial department.And people will be calling you a newshound, too.
Phone: 818-789-2695Fax: 818-789-2812E-mail: [email protected]
27IBI May 2010
COVER STORY
Bickel usually arrives for a tournament onThursday because with the common format inEurope, that is when the top players enter thequalifying rounds. Qualifying continues to first cuton Saturday evening; finals are Sunday.
During live coverage, when he always publishescomplete standings, he is in the tournamentbowling center from about 8 a.m. until 90 minutesor so after the last squad – 2:30 a.m. perhaps. Heis one of those people who can sleep little andkeep fresh, keep going, keep thinking clearly.
If you follow his live coverage, “you will findeach and every game of each and every playerin each and every round until the finals,numerous pictures,” he says proudly, and “in themeantime you get videos. We are publishingvideos in real high-definition,” with filesmeasured in gigabytes. Lower-res versions areuploaded to YouTube.com/Bowlingdigital. Ahalf-dozen or so videos will come out of a majorevent like the Brunswick Euro Challenge.
He says he is cramped on time for featurestories.
Too bad, as his impromptu interview with
Formula One driver and avid bowler Robert Kubica hints. The interview wasdone at the 2008 Vienna Open. The day following its posting onBowlingdigital, the site had 30,000 unique visitors – about the number heusually gets in a month. USA Today visited and picked up the story, as did avariety of racing magazines.
Verifying scores at the 2007 Vienna Open.
28 IBI May 2010
COVER STORY
The pressroom at the Brunswick EuroChallenge in March. The event was carried onlive TV by Eurosport, ratings-leading Europeannetwork for sports, for the first time in the his-tory of the European tour.
Bickel has also wielded an effective truncheon on occasion. He tells ofone association president seeking re-election at an international congress.In his country and for him, another term was 100% certain, says Bickel.
But Bickel knew sources that “had a lot of facts about [him] – howmuch money he spent for traveling and so on. They showed thatbowling had not developed at all [on his watch]. I published thesefacts because nobody else had.”
Anonymous email from Bickel’s contacts added details. “I wrote aboutpeople getting proxies from countries [that] were not sending people.Other people [were] paid for a flight and hotel for a meeting. Guess what?They vote in favor of the guy who is paying for the trips.”
When the president was not re-elected, he looked Bickel up. “He said,‘It’s your fault.’ I said, ‘Oh, Mr. ––, my pleasure.’ I really felt honoredbecause he agreed that the Internet or Bowlingdigital had such aninfluence on the people in the congress.”
�•�For the work he does, Bickel is paid. This makes him somewhat
unusual among bowling writers, unless a free breakfast counts as payment. “Everywhere I am going, people say, ‘Great website, great job,’
and when it comes to payment, ‘Oh, the budget is so tight; can you doit for free?’” An executive with a major supplier once remarked to him,“Usually we should not pay for press.” Bickel agrees–provided bowlingis one of the major sports.
“We’re not a major sport. And if you want to have people write aboutthis before you become a major sport, you have to pay for it, especiallywhen everybody is traveling.” Local media? They don’t cost, but considerPBA. “They are happy if they see a writer from local media.”
And think about the NFL. They don’t need to pay to have major eventscovered, such as Super Bowl, “but I bet the NFL is paying a certainpercentage of their income for public relations, to make sure everybodygets everything.”
As things usually go in bowling, however, young journalists can’t lookhere for a strong future in sports journalism, Bickel believes. He says thereis an additional reason the pressroom ranks have thinned by half during
At the Vienna Open in 2008, chatting for the Bowlingdigitalcamera with Formula One driver Robert Kubica.
his working years. Print and broadcast media can’tcompete successfully against the Internet – yet mostInternet sites have no visible means of support.
“There are a lot of news websites and mostly they justfield stuff from other websites, the Russians an example.My website is very popular in Russia. When we had theWorld Cup in St. Petersburg [2007], there were so manypeople who said, ‘I’m running this website in Russian.We take all your stuff and translate it into Cyrillic. You’redoing a great job!’ I said, ‘Thank you, nice to know,’ butI have no idea how they make any money.”
Bowlingdigital, on the other hand, has been chalkingup successes for a decade and the occasional competitorhas come along. None has stayed very long.
“There is absolutely nobody who is doing this in theUnited States,” Bickel observes, “mostly becauseUSBC is such a strong [news] organization. I cannotimagine anyone who wants to compete against it.”
But more to the point, he reflects, repeating athought, “is the contacts. If somebody who is notknown in the bowling business started to run a bowlingnews website, I doubt he would get any money becausepeople [wouldn’t] know him and would not trust himand would never spend any money.” It would be tough,anyway, given Bickel’s ten-year lead.
Maybe he was in the right place at the right time,going live as owner of Bowlingdigital in 2000. Maybethe heyday of bowling journalism has passed andBickel will have few successors. Bowlingdigital, though,still sits in the sweet spot – anywhere in the world thereis major competitive bowling – and doesn’t look likeit’s going to move any time soon. ❖
atrick Lyons has 55,000 songs in his database. After morethan 30 years of running nightclubs, restaurants, and bars,that deep and wide collection mirrors the Boston-basedentrepreneur’s know-how in gauging the rhythm ofcustomer needs. He’s used it to electrify the dining
experience when he helped bring the Hard Rock Cafe to America andto put soul in the night when he was part of launching the House of Blues.
Always moving and changing before most other food andentertainment impresarios, Lyons–who has an ownership stake in 24
businesses that have done $100million in revenues this pastyear–is like a DJ whose missionis to keep people dancingwithout getting tired, feelingfresh with each tune.
Some of that freshness can befound at the lanes of his twoKings bowling locations. Startingwith the first Kings, which openedin all its 25,000-square-foot gloryin 2003 in the Back Bay area ofBoston, Lyons has delivered abowling center concept that isahead of the curve.
“I saw Bowlmor in New York,”says Lyons, who travels the worldto research ways of wowing his
customers. “I thought they had an interesting approachto a bowling center.” Seven years ago, when he hadthe chance to build out a site that was too large for arestaurant, he opted to craft a bowling outlet thatcatered to a wide variety of patrons.
Today, Kings reigns as one of the Boston area’s go-to entertainment venues, staying open all day and lateat night. Illustrating its wide-ranging appeal, Lyons says,“My kids [ages 12 and 7] like going to Kings and it’sthe first choice of most Fortune 500 companies to hostevents in the Boston area.”
One of the keys to its success is the way it segmentsthe operating hours. Before 6 p.m., families enjoythe facility, having birthday parties and regular outings.By night, young professionals arrive and the feel ismore like a nightclub. “We let people know during theday that there will be the adult crowd coming in,”Lyons explains.
In the evening, adults enjoy creative food choices,regulation shuffleboard, and pool tables in additionto the bowling. There are few electronic gamesbecause Lyons wants to stay true to the old-fashionedleisure activities–albeit dressed up–he feels are theheart of the establishment.
His sense of what made knocking down pins specialto so many Americans in years gone by comes fromgrowing up in what he calls the bowling capital of thecountry, Buffalo, NY.
“I understand bowling as a game and as it relatedto the culture of America,” Lyons offers. With thatbackground, he decided to “build a great center tocelebrate the culture of bowling from the days when
29IBI May 2010
PROFILE
P
Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce in aphoto op with Patrick Lyons,
left, at Kings Dedham.
INLYONS’DEN
ANOTHER VISIONARY JOINSTHE INDUSTRY.
BY GREGORY KEER
30 IBI May 2010
PROFILE
it was at its most popular, and pair it with today’stechnology.”
The same thinking is reflected in Kings’ cuisine.“In the mid-’60s, in middle America, the options forfood at bowling alleys were frozen pizza and soda,”he explains. At Kings, which just opened a secondlocation in the Boston suburb of Dedham, themenu features classic macaroni and cheese butexoticized with truffle oil, and cheeseburgers areinternationalized as spring rolls.
Bowling was not the only thing Lyons learned inBuffalo. The business veteran, who also owns theSummer Shack seafood restaurants and the sportshaunts Game On and Bleacher Bar (at Fenway Park),admits that, as a young man, he earned cash makingfake IDs for state college students in his hometown.As for himself, Lyons did not go the college route.
“I spent 40 minutes in a class and didn’t like thescene,” says the man responsible for much of theBoston entertainment scene for the past threedecades.
Instead, Lyons wended through the world ofnightclubs, starting as an ace foosball player, of allthings. “I worked as a dishwasher, a bar back, andmade my way to managing a nightclub.” As aresult, Lyons knows the food, drink, and funbusiness from the bottom to the top.
“You have to know how people move and whatthey like to do in a space,” Lyons offers. “Architectsdon’t always get it. I’ve crawled around in nightclubsand gotten experience from living it. Some things
change,” Lyons has learned over the years. “Decorand music change. But the core of what makespeople feel comfortable in a space–from sound tocolor –hasn’t changed.”
While he leaves the accounting and other back-of-the-business details to his partner, Ed Sparks,Lyons is always looking at what goes on withpatrons. “We watch all the details, from the tappingfoot of a customer to the guy gazing off into the
distance. It’s more of a science than people understand. You have to put thetime in to understand it, [and] I’ve learned the diversity of the establishmentsand spent time developing a skill set. There aren’t any shortcuts.”
The 50-something Lyons, who is the proud dad of the aforementionedchildren and the husband to a former Elle magazine editor he met at a Houseof Blues event many years ago, no longer does his commercial observationsinto the wee hours. “I already spent my time in the trenches. I’ve distilledknowledge from all of the experiences and I’ve been fortunate.”
But Lyons never stops learning how to get into the heads of his customers.“I’m a voracious consumer of culture and information,” he points out. “I readmagazines, blogs, newspapers. I’m not afraid to read trash. I travel a lotoverseas and learn what people do with their time and how they react to things.
“There are a lot of pretenders in the entertainment business,” hecontinues. “I’ve seen cycles go up and down. I try to provide the combination
of value and best experience for your money.”One of the guiding principles of Lyons’ success
is having confidence in his own business timing. “Itry to be on something before it crests and get offbefore it reaches its peak,” he says. So he’ll close arestaurant even though it’s doing good businessand move on to the next thing. “We try to beleaders, not followers. It’s a matter of personal pride.But he adds, “I don’t want to stamp out 50 Kings. Ihave plenty of business to keep busy. My metric ofsuccess is not monetary. I want to be happy.”
Lyons is indeed happy, even at a time when the economy remainssketchy for most.
“We’re undergoing the largest expansion in my company’s history,” hereports. “There is a 53,000-square-foot House of Blues, a 25,000-square-foot Kings in Dedham, a 660-person pub on Landsdowne Street, a 13,000-square-foot fine dining spot called Towne, and an 8,000-square-foot tavernnamed Boston Social Club,” the last two opening in May.
“Banks aren’t lending,” he continues. “But we’re creating real jobs andexpanding the local economy in our own way. I enjoy making guests happy
At Dedham, the King Pin Room, a boutique module.
At a time when the economy remainssketchy for most, his company is intothe largest expansion in its history.
31IBI May 2010
PROFILE
and creating opportunities for people. The byproduct is thegrowth of our business.”
And Lyons is growing in his own fashion. “Kings and GameOn are the most likely to expand,” he suggests. “I get the mostrequests for those.”
But he will not likely take the bowling centers and sports barsto far-flung regions. “The problem with being national is you’vegot to travel to your locations. I’m willing to expand in NewEngland, maybe to New York and DC.”
Moreover, Lyons prefers to open more than one business ina location, wanting to maximize his company’s use of itsresources. “I only go to a market to build [several] things. I’llset up four to five operations, then dedicate the manpower.”
Lyons does more than build businesses; he enjoys creatingbetter options for others in need. As big and bold as hisentertainment ventures are, his philanthropic efforts are just aslarge. Lyons has hosted more than 300 charity events at hisKings establishments, including fundraisers for the Boys &Girls Club, Kids Can Cook (providing inner-city students fromBoston middle schools with life skills through cooking), and theGenesis Fund (which has raised over $20 million dollars fortreatment of New England area children with birth defects,genetic diseases, and mental retardation).
So the beat goes on, from the rock thump at the nighttimeKings scene to the organ anthems blaring from the TVs ofGame On. And as the music spins, countless customers will havea great time in the hospitable dens of a man named Lyons. ❖
Bowler seating at Dedham points up retro feel tucked into an updated look atKings locations.
Gregory Keer is an award-winning columnist, teacher,screenwriter, and guest expert in national media. Read more ofhis work at his online parenting magazine,www.FamilyManOnline.com.
What unusual ideas have you tried out in your center?Share them with the industry atwww.BowlingIndustry.com.
OFF THE CLOCK
32 IBI May 2010
OFF THE CLOCK
ell Dan Bobenhouse you’d be hard-pressed to callhim a bowler and he won’t be a bit insulted. He saysit about himself.
“I bowled as a kid, but I’m not a bowler,” statesthe owner of Bowlerama Lanes in Des Moines since 1998. “IfI had it to do all over again, I would probably have donesomething in animal husbandry–veterinarian, something
Dan Bobenhouse, 70 inches tall(that’s 5'10",) Magic Moment, four
years old and 30 inches tall, and hertwo-week-old filly, Moezie. Moezie
was 14 inches tall at birth.
Dan Bobenhouse, 70 inches tall(that’s 5'10",) Magic Moment, four
years old and 30 inches tall, and hertwo-week-old filly, Moezie. Moezie
was 14 inches tall at birth.
T
33IBI May 2010
OFF THE CLOCK
along that line.”Not that he’s frustrated by his line of
bowling work. Bobenhouse took adegree in recreation and parkadministration but decided he didn’twant to live in Des Monies. It would benicer to live out in the country. Finding80 acres to his liking outside St. Charles,25 miles away, he bought it, then boughtand sold adjoining acreage to amass afarm of 160 acres. Most of it he rents outto a neighbor who runs cattle, but hekeeps 30 acres for his pride and joy.
“A lot of people have thought thatthey were just a small pony, but they’rebred down from horses over the years.The objective is to breed and develop [a]correct version of a large-size horse,only in miniature.”
For those like Bobenhouse who arepursuing those objectives, pedigreesmatter. The miniature horse businesshas two registries to prove it, butbloodlines count for producing animalsthat please the critical eye, not formaintaining the purity of breed.Miniatures are categorized mainly bycolor–solid colors, varieties of pinto,Appaloosa.
“Thirty years ago, miniature horseslooked like miniature draft horses,”Bobenhouse reports. “Now the trend isto make them as refined and Arabian-horse-looking as possible: long necks,
long legs, dishy faces [concave when seen in profile], a nice tail set–not too low, nottoo high.”
Rather low, one might say. Miniatures can’t be more than 38 inches tall in orderto qualify for the American Miniature Horse Registry. The American Miniature HorseAssociation is a little tougher: the upper limit is 34 inches.
“They have no real purpose,” says Bobenhouse, who confesses that he just likes“messing around with animals.” “People like to show them, they like having themaround. They are for people who have lived on farms and who have moved to smalleracreage, that have had livestock or horses, that still want to mess around with horses.”
“I have barns, but in this part of thecountry–Midwest and any colder climate–theyget a tremendous hair coat in the winter, likethree or four inches. They’re pretty imperviousmost of the time. They’ll get behind awindbreak, whether it’s trees or the warmerside of the building. They’re like any animal;they figure it out.” Sick animals and fillies aboutto foal are taken inside; otherwise the horsesare free-ranged to keep their muscles toned.
Bobenhouse spends $25 a week on a diet ofhay for his herd of 40. They are fed morning andevening, and their hooves need to be kepttrimmed. He does all the work, which requiresabout 20 hours a week.
Two or three miniatures can be raised onfive acres. They will live 25-30 years.
OFF THE CLOCK
34 IBI February 2010
That’s the fun part. “You walk out in the lot and they’re right
there rubbing up against you, nipping at you.They just want attention. They love to bepetted. The more you do that, the more itcarries over into their adult life.
“I try to have all of my foals imprinted withpeople,” he says, turning a little more serious.“You start doing that when they’re first born,getting them used to you, used to you[playing] with their ears, their legs, and theybecome just like puppies. They follow youaround, untie your shoe strings–they just figure[that] out on their own.” They even comewhen he calls. Bobenhouse isn’t sure whetherthey know their names, but they recognize he’scalling them.
Bobenhouse likes the shows, too, althoughhe hasn’t entered in a couple of years. Eachregistry puts on a national event, with regionalqualifiers, and together they hold severaldozen sales a year.
The horses are shown “at halter” for“confirmation”–“the way they are puttogether, how correct they are”–and for color.It’s purely a matter of aesthetic judgment.“The judges, unless they know that particularanimal, don’t know what the genetics are.It’s all on eye appeal according to thoseparticular judges.”
Kids as young as five can handle the horses,
so the shows offer classes. The junior programs under theauspices of both registries are “very big.” The idea is to getchildren involved early, although not as riders because aminiature horse can carry no more than about 50 pounds.
They pull as much as 450, however. That’s another eventon which they can be judged at shows. “Roadster,” a speedgait, and “country pleasure,” a more refined movement, arethe other driving classes. Nobody races miniature horses, asfar as Bobenhouse knows, although there are thoroughbred-style miniatures.
He got into the hobby in the late 1970s because someonehad a stallion and a mare for sale and Bobenhouse “thoughtthey were cute, so I bought them.” He drifted away and intoraising pure-bred cattle until the early ’90s. In 2003 he tookup with horses again.
“I missed not having any livestock and I didn’t want to getback into the cattle business.” He breeds, raises and sells thehorses. He also keeps some because of his fondness forthem–“mostly that,” he laughs. “I look at them as I did thecattle, trying to breed as correct an animal and as eye-appealing an animal as you can. I look at it as an art form intrying to find that perfect mating.”
But now, he says, “I’m in the process of downsizing.”When we talked, he had several of his herd consigned to acouple of upcoming sales. Altogether he was planning tocut loose about 16.
“I’ve had my farm for 35 years and I’m thinking it mightbe time. I was born and raised here, and it’s a great place tolive. While I don’t think of myself as old, I’m 60. It’s probablyjust time.
“I’m thinking it might be time to move into Des Moines.” ❖
Dreammaker (on the right), a 7-year-old buckskin pinto 29.75 inches tall. A2008 National Reserve Driving Champion,he is now owned by Charlotte andMichael Kunzler of Van Meter, IA.
Among his foals are the three otherhorses in photo: in front, Dusty Rose, abay (30 inches tall); left of her, Beau,cremello in color (30 inches); and Splash, apinto (29.5 inches).
Genealogies maintained by the twonational registries, important to buyers,go back three or four generations. Theanimals are registered at one year old,when fully grown at three, and afterwardany time ownership changes. Registrationincludes a photograph of each full-figureprofile and two straight-on head shots.
Miniatures typically sell for $500-$4,000, but have brought as much as$100,000.
SPECIAL EVENTFLOORINGThe Profit Platform is the latest inno-vative product to be developed byGKM Int’l. Created by inventorGordon Murrey, it transforms your bowling lanes into specialevent square footage fast, easily and economically. To seehow easy it is to increase your profits, visit the company’swebsite at www.profitplatform.biz and make sure to take theVirtual Installation tour. For more information, call 310-791-7092.
PARTYWAREPurple is the color of birthday party funwhen it comes from Product Specialties.“Purple Logo” features heavy-duty plates,cups and napkins in a bouncy, festivedesign, while the plastic tablecover comeson rolls 54 inches wide to fit any table.Party Packs serve 250 or 500 youngsters. For more informa-tion, call 800-442-0552 or visit www.BowlingPartyKits.com.
REAL-TIME INTERNETRESERVATIONSBrunswick Vector® Internet Reservationsystem allows your customers to reservelanes online 24/7, without a dedicatedemployee. A Brunswick exclusive, reservations can be sharedthrough over 40 social networking, email, and bloggingwebsites to create a viral effect. Features include customerdata collection, ability to promote and sell food and partypackages, direct payment, and more. For more information,contact your Brunswick representative or call 800-YES-BOWL.
CARPET TILETimes Square and Color BurstCarpet tile by Flagship Carpets.Carpet Tiles hold several advan-tages over regular broadloomcarpet. For one, they are easier to install and maintain. If animpossible stain cannot come out of your carpet tile, noproblem, just replace the damaged tile. The vinyl backing alsoallows for more aggressive cleaning methods to be conduct-ed on your floor. For a free sample, contact Flagship Carpetsat 800-848-4055.
36 IBI May 2010
SHOWCASE
SCORING UPGRADESEvolution scoring products fromD&J Marketing are designed toupgrade your bowling center tothe latest technology at a fraction of the cost of new scoring.Most legacy scoring systems suffer from proprietary and anti-quated display monitors. The Evolution upgrade will giveyou the ability to use most commercially available monitorswith your existing scoring system. For more information,call 517-706-7611.
RENTAL SHOESTired of your premium shoeswalking out the door? Want ashoe that’s easily cleaned andaffordable to replace? Want ashoe that can look good even after months of play, unlikesuede and cloth shoes? Put your customers in an attractivecomfortable shoe that’ll look good this month and next.QubicaAMF’s new SuperValue Rental Shoes, as low as $11.95every day. For more information visit www.QubicaAMF.com,or call us today at 866-460-7263.
SOCKS SPECIALSix ways to profit from dispos-able tube socks from Switch atonly 45 cents per pair! (1) Sellthem to your bowlers at 75cents. (2) Increase your rental shoe cost and include sockswith each pair of shoes. (3) Save wear on shoes. (4) Bowlersappreciate it. (5) Great for hot summers when people cometo bowl without socks on. (6) Stop paying too much for sani-tizing spray (which ruins the shoes). Call James Borin at 972-679-4824, email [email protected], skype jamesmobileusa, or visit www.switchbowling.com.
LCD MONITORSAccuVision LCD Monitors byQubicaAMF are designed with thebowling industry in mind: engineeredas a complete system providing a top-of-the-line LCD panel with consistent classic look, integratedTV control, and your score-grid correctly fitting the screen.Integrated with Qubica, AMF MagicScore, AccuScore I-II-Plus,XL & BOSS, Brunswick AS-80/90C, FrameWorx & Vector,Mendes and Steltronic. It’s easy to install one lane pair or thewhole house. For more information and benefits visitwww.qubicaamf.com or call 866-460-7263, option 2.
38 IBI May 2010
27-July 1Bowl ExpoLas Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas.888-649-5585 or www.bpaa.com.
JULY28Bowling Centers of SouthernCalifornia Annual GolfTournamentBlack Gold Contry Club, YorbaLinda. Victoria Tahmizian, 818-789-0900 or [email protected].
29-31Independent BowlingOrganization Trade Show &ConventionHeld in conjunction with the GMB-COA. Valley Plaza Resort, Midland,MI. Scott, 888-484-2322 orwww.ibo-Show.com.
OCTOBER3-5West Coast Bowling ConventionHarrah’s Harveys, South LakeTahoe, CA. Sandi Thompson,925-485-1855. IBI is the officialmagazine of the convention.
11-15East Coast Bowling CentersConventionTrump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ.BPAA, 888-649-5586.IBI is the official magazine of theconvention.
NOVEMBER13-20IBI Eastern Caribbean IndustryCruiseSailing from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.Scott Frager or Victoria Tahmizian,818-789-2695.
MAY17-19Bowling Centers Association ofOhio convention and trade showHoliday Inn, Perrysburg (Toledo).Pat Marazzi, 937-433-8363 [email protected].
24Illinois State BPA board meetingHoliday Inn & Suites, Bloomington.Bill Duff, 847-982-1305 [email protected].
JUNE1-3Kansas State BPA conferencewith exhibitorsAdams Pointe Conference Center,Blue Springs, MO. Mary Thurber,913-638-1817.
DATEBOOK
39IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
AMERICAN-MADE PINSETTER PARTS– HIGHEST QUALITY. Visit us on theweb at www.ebnservices.com or calltoll free (888) 435-6289.
USED BRUNSWICK PARTS, A2 parts andassemblies. Large Inventory.www.usedpinsetterparts.com.
NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment.Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or jayhawkbowling.com.
Pinsetter Parts New from ALL majormanufacturers. HUGE IN STOCK inventory.USED Brunswick Scoring parts, AS90cameras, processors, lane cables,monitors, and PC boards. Order online @888SBIBOWL.com or (888) 724-2695.The Mechanics Choice!
AMF scoring packages with orwithout LCDs. (712) 253-8730;www.complete-bowling.com.
AMF package complete: 8 lanes, 82-70s & AccuScore Plus. (641) 414-1542.
24-lane Brunswick A-2 package. Automaticoverhead scoring. Brunswick 2000 returns;wood approaches. In operation through2003 season. Available immediately. Makeoffer. (906) 786-1600. Ask for Denis.
Buy or Sell @www.bowlingyardsale.com; one-stopshopping for bowling equipment — fromlane packages to dust mops!
REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details(248) 375-2751.
40 IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
16 Brunswick Factory A-2s, 103-000 serialnumbers. Lots of extras. Removed & readyfor shipment. Also, 16 lanes Horizon/Omegamasking units w/ 2 foot upper graphics. Ron@ (605) 237-0288.
EQUIPMENT WANTED
LANE MACHINES WANTED. We willpurchase your KEGEL-built machine, anyage or condition. Phone (608) 764-1464.
USED WOOD BOWLING LANE BEDS.WILL REMOVE! MIDWEST LOCATIONPREFERABLE. (574) 551-5914 [email protected].
CENTERS FOR SALE
UPSTATE NEW YORK: State-of-the-art16-lane center with 82-70s in collegetown. 3.5 acres prime commercial. CallBob (585) 243-1760.
CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, autoscoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s. Greatfood sales. Yearly tournament. Attached,large 3 bedroom apartment w/ fireplace.$550K. (715) 223-8230.
CENTERS FOR SALE
UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/commercial building built in 1992.Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring,kitchen and room to expand! Reduced tosell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611.
16-lane center in Southern Coloradomountains. Great condition. 18,000s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge.Paved parking 100 + vehicles.Established leagues & tournaments.$950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155.
CENTERS FOR SALE
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-laneBrunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thruliquor store in small college town. Also, 3apartment buildings with 40 units, goodrental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701)430-1490.
SOUTHERN INDIANA (close toIndianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick centerwith lounge, liquor license & movietheater on 4+ acres. Turnkey business.Owner retiring. Great investment! (765) 349-1312.
CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center andrestaurant in central Idaho mountains.Small town. Only center within 60-mileradius. Brunswick A-2 machines;Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring.(208) 879-4448.
SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant.Includes business and real estate. Nice,smaller community. Owner retiring.$212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828.
WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM
41IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
CENTERS FOR SALE
FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM
Michael P. Davies (321) 254-7849291 Sandy Run, Melbourne, FL 32940
on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: [email protected]
AS80/90 • BOARD REPAIR • FrameworxSERVICE CALLS WORLDWIDE • PRE-SHIPS • WE SELL
NEW KEYPADS • FRONT DESK LCD MONITORS
(570) 346-5559
CENTERS FOR SALE
SE WISCONSIN: 12-lane Brunswickcenter including building, real estate & 7acres. Raised dance floor, grill, pro shop,arcade, tanning room and more.Reasonably priced. Owner retiring.(920) 398-8023.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lanecenter w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s, 19,000s/f building w/ lots of parking. Newlyremodeled bar & large kitchen. Ownerretiring. (530) 598-2133.
NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Islandregion. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmicbowling, auto scoring. Established leagues+ many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill@ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.
CENTRAL ILLINOIS: 8-lane centerwith AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant,pro shop. Plus pool tables, Karaokemachine, DJ system. PRICED TO SELL.Includes RE. (217) 351-5152 [email protected].
SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12 lanes+ café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bedroomhome. Full liquor & fireworks licenses.Outside Salt Lake City area. Dennis @Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 [email protected].
SOUTHERN NEVADA: 8-lane center.Only center in town of 15,000. 30minutes from Las Vegas. AMF 82-70s,newer Twelve Strike scoring. R/E leased.Will consider lease/option with qualifiedperson. REDUCED TO $175,000. CallSteve @ (702) 293-2368; [email protected].
NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes, 19,200square feet, 1.68 acres paved, sound &lighting, lounge w/ gaming, arcade, fullservice snack bar & pro shop. Call (775)934-1539.
SW WISCONSIN: 10 lanes, newautomatic scoring/sound. Bar/grill. Greatleagues, local tournaments, excellentpinsetters. Supportive community. 2acres off main highway. $299,995. (608) 341-9056.
GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, realestate included. Great location in one offastest growing counties in metro Atlanta.5 years new with all the amenities.Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751.
CENTERS FOR SALE
42 IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
CENTERS FOR SALE
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One ofthe top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.9 gets it all.Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362.
NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s,Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game &pool rooms. See pics andinfo @ www.visitcolby.com or contactCharles (785) 443-3477.
CENTRAL IOWA: Own your own turn keybusiness! 8 lanes–Gutterz Bowl & Lounge.Outside patio, karaoke, glow carpet &bowling. Must see to appreciate. $274,000.(641) 332-2882.
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA: 12-LANEBrunswick center. REDUCED TO SELLNOW! Includes auto scoring, glow bowling,pizza, large dining area & video poker. Goodincome. Long Lease. Great opportunity. CallMike (318) 578-0772.
SW IDAHO: 8-LANE CENTER w/fullservice, award winning restaurant, new lanes& scoring. $500,000 includes equipment &real estate. Nicely profitable. Call Ron @Arthur Berry & Co., (208) 639-6171.
CENTERS FOR SALE
TEXAS: 40 lanes with reconditionedpinsetters, new synthetics & upgradedscoring. Building in top shape includingremodeled bar. Good revenue & cash flow.Ken Paton (503) 645-5630.
NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling.Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluthw/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Twolarge State employment facilities nearby.High six figure gross. 3-bdrm home included.$1.375m. Call Bryan (218) 380-8089.www.majesticpine.com.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane centerREDUCED to $799,000 for quick sale.Synthetics, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f + parking.Newly remodeled bar, large kitchen. Ownerretiring. Will consider selling only equipmentor building. www.siskiyoulanes.com. (530)598-2133.
MANAGER WANTED
Chain looking for a manager with experiencein league formation & special events incentral U.S. area. Respond w/ resume toBox 505 @ [email protected] or fax(818) 789-2812.
MECHANIC WANTED
Head Mechanic—AMF 82-70s—inKentucky. Call Dennis (502) 722-9314.
POSITION WANTED
Brunswick “A” mechanic, 12+ yearsexperience, AS-80/AS-90 scoring systemexpertise. Former owner/GM. Willing torelocate. Contact me at (308) 380-8594.
MANAGE TO OWN—SMALL CENTER.Started 29 new leagues in less than 5 years.Reliable & honest. Excellent references. CallAndy (507) 527-2551 or Matt (507) 696-1151.
SERVICES AVAILABLE
Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring BallRepair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com.
AMF scoring component repair.(712) 253-8730.
SELLING, BUYING or FINANCING aCenter? RC Partners can help–we are notbrokers. (616) 374-5651; www.sell104.com.
43IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
818-789-2695SELL IT FAST IN IBI
44 IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
ForFLORIDA CENTERS
CallDAVID DRISCOLL& ASSOCIATES
1-800-444-BOWLP.O. Box 189
Howey-in-the-Hills, FL 34737AN AFFILIATE OF
SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
SERVICES AVAILABLE
KEN’S BOWLING EQUIPMENT – AMFscoring, pin decks, masking units &Brunswick power lifts.(641) 414-1542.
INSURANCE SERVICES
BOWLING CENTER INSURANCE.COM.Helping you is what we do best! Property;Liability; Liquor Liability; Workers Comp.Bob Langley (866) 438-3651 x 145;[email protected].
Insuring Bowling Centers for over 30years. Ohio, Illinois & Michigan: Property& Liability, Liquor Liabiity, WorkersCompensation, Health & PersonalInsurance. Call Scott Bennet (248) 408-0200, [email protected]; MarkDantzer CIC (888) 343-2667,[email protected]; or KevinElliott.
FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:530-432-2933
Orange County Security Consultants10285 Ironclad Road, Rough & Ready, CA 95975
•Keys & ComboLocks for allTypes ofLockers.
•One weekturnaroundon mostorders.
•New locks -All types•Used locks1/2 priceof new
All keysdone bycode #.
No keysnecessary.
LOCKERKEYS FAST!
CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEYINTʼL 530-432-1027
The leading source for real estate loans with low down payments
Ken Paton(503) 645-5630
We could not have gottenWe could not have gottenour loan without him.our loan without him.
Mike and Tammy KnoopMike and Tammy KnoopBel Mar LanesBel Mar Lanes
Sidney, OHSidney, OH
TRAINING
BRUNSWICK PINSETTER TRAININGCOURSE – Colorado Springs, Colorado. 13-day sessions including hotelaccommodations. Call for [email protected]; myspace –rmgpinsetter.com; (719) 432-5052 or (719)671-7167. Fax (866) 353-5010.
45IBI May 2010
CLASSIFIEDS
BUY SELL
AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENTCOMPLETE PACKAGES
WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
Danny & Daryl TuckerDanny & Daryl TuckerTucker Bowling Equipment Co. Bowling Parts, Inc.609 N.E. 3rd St. P.O. Box 801Tulia, Texas 79088 Tulia, Texas 79088Call (806) 995-4018 Call (806) 995-3635Fax (806) 995-4767 Email - [email protected]
www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com
AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC boardrepair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fastturnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service
5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695)
Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon)E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us on the WEB!http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/
2021 Bridge StreetJessup, PA 18434570-489-8623www.minigolfinc.com
MINIATURE GOLF COURSESIndoor/Outdoor. ImmediateInstallation. $5,900.00 & up. PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70
S.S. & M.P. MACHINESSave $$ on Chassis & P.C. Board
Exchange & Repair!A reasonable alternative for
Chassis and P.C. Board ExchangesMIKE BARRETTCall for Price List
Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576
WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM(818) 789-2695
SELL YOUR CENTEROR EQUIPMENT
FAST!
IBI May 201046
REMEMBER WHEN
ardon us, Mr. Poet, butthe pins aren’t the onlythings “flying left andright,” it seems. So are
the balls–or at least they’remighty slow getting to thepindeck. We count four bowlerswho have released their ballsand six balls on the lanes.
We won’t begrudge artistFrederick Siebel his slightinaccuracy, though. We like theatmosphere in his painting. It’sbowling in its glory days, theconviviality, the people from allwalks of life, the boisterousgood times.
National bowling numberswere headed up, too. BPAA’s2,310 member centers had28,599 lanes that year, 1953-54, while ABC/WIBCcertified 58,982 lanes in6,911 bowling emporiums.Immediately ahead lay adecade of steady growthon all four fronts. ❖
1953P
