What would you like to see in a Bowling alley?

r3nu4l

The 10-pin bowling centre in Cambridge leisure park is an example of what I like about a well-run bowling alley.

As well as the usual arcades and pool tables there is a fully licensed bar with lane service .

Also, the food served is proper restaurant food, not just junk food. You can even order a roast on Sundays!

Another element I like that is fun (but distracting if you are trying to bowl seriously!) is that on Friday evenings there is an in-house DJ. The lights dim, smoke machines spew smoke onto the lanes and UV lights shine onto both the lane and the pins (surreal!). Then the theme tune to Star Wars is played and the tunes bang out (DJ-speak there ) after that.

Now it's seriously distracting if you are trying to perfect your technique but the kids love it and it's a bit of fun and a laugh when you are gearing up for a night out.

So, what would you like to see in a bowling alley? What elements annoy you, please you or are missing?

cast_iron

A nice spectator area behind the lanes is good.

The whole UV thing is a nightmare if trying to bowl seriously, so we used to avoid those nights. Good fun for some people though, so I wouldn't knock it altogether.

DEmeant0r

aye, I never liked the UV lights, haven't a clue what's so great about them, but other people seem to love it though.

Red Alert

I love the UV lighting etc but only for one night a week or whatever - it would get really tiresome if you were looking at it non-stop.

r3nu4l

I do think that the UV light thing (and DJ) is necessary for a family-friendly feel

The bowling alley in Cambridge is always packed with families on Fridays when this is on. Bowling should definitely be fun for kids. That said, for someone trying to perfect technique it's very distracting . I didn't know what was happening the first time I saw it. I was dumbstruck :eek:

I would like to see a less visible but definitely present security detail. Some bowling alleys, including Cambridge have some seriously menacing types on the door. I know it's meant to keep trouble out but it doesn't really help with the 'your family is safe here' vibe

DubTony

Crumlin used to do a Friday night thing. Some sort of Rock 'n' Bowl deal where the music was cranked up, the lights were turned off and drunk people were encouraged to bowl. :eek: I went in once. They ran it at midnight. Holy sh!t. What a mess. Not my idea of fun, but it seemed to work for a while.

Kinetic^

Drink.

r3nu4l

Kenny 5 wrote:

Drink.

I don't understand why it's not available in Ireland (okay, there is the potential for abuse! )

In my local Bowling alley there is a fully licensed bar! Lane service and all I can have a Guinness, glass of wine, cocktail, Vodka, Rum, Scotch, anything! It makes bowling a really good activity and because the bar is inside the centre it means that you can pretty much stay there the whole night if you want, great lounge section and all

DubTony

Great place. Most of the centres I played in America had bars as well. Problem here is the licencing aspect (and the security issues). The only way to get a full licence in Ireland is to discontinue using one and transfer it to somewhere else. So in order to get a new license in Dublin, it seems a pub has to close somewhere else (anywhere else). That's easy enough these days but with every new Centra and Spar store having an off-licence the value of these things has rocketed. I've been told it can cost upward of €170K these days to buy a licence. Most centre owners aren't interested in getting into the possibility of having to control drunks. In fact, most owners here aren't even interested in providing decent food.

r3nu4l

DubTony wrote:

Most centre owners aren't interested in getting into the possibility of having to control drunks. In fact, most owners here aren't even interested in providing decent food.

Seems to be true on both counts My local cenre also offers full restaurant/pub grub style food, roasts etc...now I'm hungry :D

Mr Magnolia

r3nu4l wrote:

I don't understand why it's not available in Ireland (okay, there is the potential for abuse! )

In my local Bowling alley there is a fully licensed bar! Lane service and all

There's all of the above available in the Bowling Alley on the north-side of Dundalk, t'is accross the road from the racing track. Bit of Pub-grub on the go too.


Nice forum btw.

r3nu4l

Sparks400 wrote:

There's all of the above available in the Bowling Alley on the north-side of Dundalk, t'is accross the road from the racing track. Bit of Pub-grub on the go too.

Excellent! Is it a fmaily friendly place or full of dodgy geezers?

Mr Magnolia

All friendly TBH, never even heard of any bother in it. It's very well managed IMHO.

r3nu4l

Sparks400 wrote:

All friendly TBH, never even heard of any bother in it. It's very well managed IMHO.

Yeah, it's the same in Cambridge. The only trouble I've ever seen there involved 12 police officers and two dogs...to remove four teenagers fighting with a crowd of teenagers cheering on.

Nothing to do with the bar on-site or adults, just kids.

The same kids and their friends haven't been allowed set foot in any of the establishments there since, bowling alley, cinema, restaurants, anywhere. Security is very good and I've never seen anything like that before or since.

As Dub_Tony said, I imagine it's the price of a drinks license in Dublin that is probably the biggest issue.

conZ

We have a bar 10 or so metres from our bowling lanes. Had some problems getting a licence, but we got it. Only 3 drinks on tap, the rest bottled.

r3nu4l

conZ wrote:

We have a bar 10 or so metres from our bowling lanes. Had some problems getting a licence, but we got it. Only 3 drinks on tap, the rest bottled.

Good to see ya conZ So do you guys offer lane service? Good to see that some bowling at home alleys are offering a 'fuller, more adult' experience...I'm not suggesting lapdancers here, just applauding the presence of a bar

bbability

It was always something that was missing from Bowling Centres in Ireland. I think its changing though.

califano

I'd like to be able to use balls without lumps taken out of them. Im sure most of the current balls have been there since day1 12 years ago. Seriously most of them are like a block of cheese and this is a UCI.
I'd also like to see the air fan hand coolers to be working well. Most of them are vert faint if working at all.

conZ

r3nu4l wrote:

Good to see ya conZ So do you guys offer lane service? Good to see that some bowling at home alleys are offering a 'fuller, more adult' experience...I'm not suggesting lapdancers here, just applauding the presence of a bar

Some people are amazed that there is a bar in the Centre alright, keep getting asked 'are we allowed to take our drinks down to the pool tables?'.

There are some restrictions on our bar licence. It's technically a Club bar - so you've either to be a member of the Bowling & Snooker Club or sign in as a visitor to the Club on the sign-in sheet at the Bar. People don't mind this though, and the Guards don't hassle us - even though we are very cautious and careful about this.

Well, realistically, we're not that awfully busy that we cant take orders from the lanes, but the bar is literally within spitting distance from the lanes so most customers tend to stroll over to the bar in between shots and we drop down drinks and change to them.

Our chain of Bowling Alleys have been trying to push the 'more adult experience' alright - think he's got a Bar in each Centre.

Handing in my notice tomorrow. It's gonna be a sad day when I leave Leisure World (Though, i'll still be getting all the perks of an employee - without the screaming children during the daytime and constant buzzing of the Arcade machines in my ear when I finish up at night).

Going on work placement for College for the year after my upcoming exams though, glorified land surveyor. Makes a change.

Swarley

right what i want to see in a bowling alley. obviously the bar, i mean drunk bowling would be awesome, another thing would be stripper poles between all the alley's, not a lot of bowling would be done but it would be a great time had by all. imagine after bowling your frame you sit down to a lap dance. a free one if you get a strike;) Legendary!!