anyone else ever thought this would be a great idea?

[JB2K]

Bowling has always had a bad reputation because of its direct association with drinking establishments, gambling and thugs. Most people would not encourage their children to spend too much time at a bowling alley. Disney sure doesn't want a bowling alley on property.

Ahem...

There are lots of bowling facilties around the country that are family-friendly venues. With Disney, it's all-about their bottom line meaning if Disney could find a way to make money off it, you better believe they would get their own "bowling palace" going...

And, besides -- did you know they sell beer at Champion Staudium (ESPN's WWoS)?

 

[Disney Von Drake]

Ahem...

There are lots of bowling facilties around the country that are family-friendly venues. With Disney, it's all-about their bottom line meaning if Disney could find a way to make money off it, you better believe they would get their own "bowling palace" going...

And, besides -- did you know they sell beer at Champion Staudium (ESPN's WWoS)?

You have indeed gotten to the heart of the matter. As I had previously stated, bowling in the USA has declined precipitously due to its poor reputation. About 1998, the major organization that controlled professional bowling (Professional Bowlers Association) was close to collapse and came close to filing bankruptcy. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) suffered a similar fate. In an attempt to rescue the sport (and make money), three former Microsoft executives bought the PBA in early 2000. Also in 2005, the ABC became the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and in 2008 it merged with the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of America (BPAA).

The bottom line to all this is that the sport of bowling has not been able to overcome its poor reputation. Here are the current TV listings for PBA bowling this year:


PBA ON TV

Upcoming New PBA Tour Broadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time
Upcoming Classic Tournament Rebroadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time

Not even ESPN will touch them with a ten foot pole. As you correctly pointed out, it's all about making money. Bowling in the USA is not making any significant money. In fact their financials show that the sport is a money pit and the PBA has not been able to turn things around.

In desperation, the PBA changed the rules last year for tournament play to allow pro bowlers to drink during play. They thought it would help make bowling more popular. No wonder they're not making money and spectators aren't interested in watching.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

You have indeed gotten to the heart of the matter. As I had previously stated, bowling in the USA has declined precipitously due to its poor reputation. About 1998, the major organization that controlled professional bowling (Professional Bowlers Association) was close to collapse and came close to filing bankruptcy. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) suffered a similar fate. In an attempt to rescue the sport (and make money), three former Microsoft executives bought the PBA in early 2000. Also in 2005, the ABC became the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and in 2008 it merged with the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of America (BPAA).

The bottom line to all this is that the sport of bowling has not been able to overcome its poor reputation. Here are the current TV listings for PBA bowling this year:


PBA ON TV

Upcoming New PBA Tour Broadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time
Upcoming Classic Tournament Rebroadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time

Not even ESPN will touch them with a ten foot pole. As you correctly pointed out, it's all about making money. Bowling in the USA is not making any significant money. In fact their financials show that the sport is a money pit and the PBA has not been able to turn things around.

In desperation, the PBA changed the rules last year for tournament play to allow pro bowlers to drink during play. They thought it would help make bowling more popular. No wonder they're not making money and spectators aren't interested in watching.

What does this have to do with everyday families enjoying a wholesome and fun game or two of bowling? Grandparents and young kids can spend time together and a Disney themed bowling alley on site could be profitable.

Playing arcade games is not a spectator sport, yet Disney built a five story themed arcade for families to enjoy.

I don't think that a Disney bowling alley will attract any more gambling, thugs of drinking than what is already there. It appears you have a problem with professional bowling but have yet to prove to me that what happens at the professional level affects how common everyday folks have fun.

 

[chartle]

You have indeed gotten to the heart of the matter. As I had previously stated, bowling in the USA has declined precipitously due to its poor reputation.

I would say the poor rep came less from drinking but more the fact that bowling alleys were one of the last places to ban smoking.

But I really think, like a lot of things, people just started to do other things LIKE POST MESSAGES TO DISCUSSION BOARDS ALL NIGHT.

It may be that adults i.e. parents just don't have the time for league play with all the stuff they do for their kids every night. Without leagues I just don't think there's enough money to support many alleys. The one nearest me I think makes its most money on kids birthday parties. Also remember all night bowling, how many teens do that today.

Also whats the deal with scoring, I've taken advanced college calculus and never figured it out. Computer scoring didn't come quick enough to save it.

 

[KellyNY]

You have indeed gotten to the heart of the matter. As I had previously stated, bowling in the USA has declined precipitously due to its poor reputation. About 1998, the major organization that controlled professional bowling (Professional Bowlers Association) was close to collapse and came close to filing bankruptcy. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) suffered a similar fate. In an attempt to rescue the sport (and make money), three former Microsoft executives bought the PBA in early 2000. Also in 2005, the ABC became the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and in 2008 it merged with the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of America (BPAA).

The bottom line to all this is that the sport of bowling has not been able to overcome its poor reputation. Here are the current TV listings for PBA bowling this year:


PBA ON TV

Upcoming New PBA Tour Broadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time
Upcoming Classic Tournament Rebroadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time

Not even ESPN will touch them with a ten foot pole. As you correctly pointed out, it's all about making money. Bowling in the USA is not making any significant money. In fact their financials show that the sport is a money pit and the PBA has not been able to turn things around.

In desperation, the PBA changed the rules last year for tournament play to allow pro bowlers to drink during play. They thought it would help make bowling more popular. No wonder they're not making money and spectators aren't interested in watching.

Unpoular and poor reputation are two very different things. There are many other things out there for people to enjoy today, much more then it used to be. You seem to jump to conclusions without any hard evidences. We got it, you do not like bowling but do not make it look like it is anything more then just your opinion.

 

[angelmav]

Miniature Golf (another Disney activity) has also diminished. Must be all the gangs and drugs.

Times change. Geez von drake give it a rest.

If people wanted to watch bowling on TV, they would televise it. Do you have any idea how many sports used to be televised that arent any more? Half the stuff that used to be on ABC's wide world of sports would never get any air time today.

 

[ebtbmom]

One time I had this nightmare that I had gone to WDW with my girlfriends and we were all fighting over what to do. One wanted to get drunk in Epcot, one wanted to go sit in the room and watch TV, and one wanted to go bowling and I was mad because I didn't want to spend my WDW time bowling. Too funny!
Seriously though, most people have bowling alleys near them at home. Is it novel or interesting enough to want to do during your WDW vacation? I don't know, personally I like being able to do stuff there that I couldn't do at home.

 

[michygoomy]

Miniature Golf (another Disney activity) has also diminished. Must be all the gangs and drugs.

Times change. Geez von drake give it a rest.

If people wanted to watch bowling on TV, they would televise it. Do you have any idea how many sports used to be televised that arent any more? Half the stuff that used to be on ABC's wide world of sports would never get any air time today.

Then explain why Curling is televised!

 

[hookedonears]

I'd rather see some sort of high quality virtual reality, realistic golf, where you use actual golf clubs and walk from whole to whole, though indoors of course.

 

[Robo]

walk from whole to whole, though indoors of course.

The "whole" what?

 

[mydisneykids]

Sat next to a guy at Biergarten who works at Wide World of Sports and he indeed confirmed that there are plans in the works to build a bowling alley there. I think fairly soon too. Like maybe in the next year or so?

I'm petitioning for an ice rink with several sheets of ice. When Disney owned the mighty ducks, they put on the best hockey tournaments. I wish they would get back into that.

We would give anything for an ice rink. We manage a travel hockey team and have been looking for tournaments in the area. So many of our parents have commented that we go to Canada all the time for tournaments. Why not travel as far for one but have the warm weather and fun of Disney at the same time.

 

[umichigan10]

I have no doubt that some golfers violate the rules. However, consumption of alcohol anywhere on the golf course during play is a direct violation of both PGA and local club rules. Drinking alcohol while bowling is not a violation of the PBA rules even at the national championship level. I wonder why?

Not drinking, but didn't Arnold Palmer smoke while he golfed?

 

[umichigan10]

You have indeed gotten to the heart of the matter. As I had previously stated, bowling in the USA has declined precipitously due to its poor reputation. About 1998, the major organization that controlled professional bowling (Professional Bowlers Association) was close to collapse and came close to filing bankruptcy. The American Bowling Congress (ABC) suffered a similar fate. In an attempt to rescue the sport (and make money), three former Microsoft executives bought the PBA in early 2000. Also in 2005, the ABC became the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and in 2008 it merged with the Bowling Proprietor’s Association of America (BPAA).

The bottom line to all this is that the sport of bowling has not been able to overcome its poor reputation. Here are the current TV listings for PBA bowling this year:


PBA ON TV

Upcoming New PBA Tour Broadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time
Upcoming Classic Tournament Rebroadcasts
No Television Events Scheduled At This Time

Not even ESPN will touch them with a ten foot pole. As you correctly pointed out, it's all about making money. Bowling in the USA is not making any significant money. In fact their financials show that the sport is a money pit and the PBA has not been able to turn things around.

In desperation, the PBA changed the rules last year for tournament play to allow pro bowlers to drink during play. They thought it would help make bowling more popular. No wonder they're not making money and spectators aren't interested in watching.

i forgot to mention this in my pp: did you know viewership for MLB baseball has been on the decline since 2000. Not only that, but in that time the sport has been rocked by a steroid era that has tainted the sport, thus "ruining its reputation." Yet Disney has baseball diamonds at WWoS. Go figure.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

My brother is one of those bowlers. He adores his weekly bowling time with the other mentally handicapped adults. He was abused at one of his homes and they broke his wrist and it was heart wrenching because he couldn't bowl for a couple of months. He and his friends find bowling to be one of the few sports they can engage in due to their physical and mental limitations. And the families of these bowlers find it an enjoying atmosphere to connect with others who know what it is like to have a family member with such a disability. They are getting much older now and it is sad because every couple of months, he loses another friend but I'll tell you what, they bowl until their last days.

So I'm not sure if the poster is just being sarcastic or really believes what they say but I'd like to say to stop and please think before your next post because you are getting into territory that is just hurtful to those folks that rely on the theraputic nature of that sport (or activity...if you don't feel it is a sport).

I see you're from Broomfield. Does your brother bowl at 88th & Grant? That's where we were when we bowled last month.

I hope you did not think in any way that I was making fun of those with mental disabilities. It was quite the opposite! And I've been one of the ones wholeheartedly supporting bowling on this thread. I was trying to show how absurd Mr. "Disney Von Drake" was when he said that bowling alleys are a bad influence on our kids because of all of the thugs. How can you call a bowling alley with three generations of bowlers (us) next to a group of mentally handicapped individuals on one side and a father/son team who has been bowling together since his teenage son was 5 years old on the other side of us a place of thugs, gambling and drinking that are a bad influence on our kids? Doesn't that sound like an uneducated and unthoughtful line of logic on Disney Von Drake's part? I think a bowling alley is a great place for family fun together (especially since there is no longer smoking in them!). I was simply trying to point out that the stereotype that Disney Von Drake was trying to perpetuate is quite untrue in many family-oriented bowling alleys across the country. I doubt if Disney Von Drake has even been in a bowling alley the past five years. A bowling alley can be a much better place than your local mall for today's kids to hang-out and have fun!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

i forgot to mention this in my pp: did you know viewership for MLB baseball has been on the decline since 2000. Not only that, but in that time the sport has been rocked by a steroid era that has tainted the sport, thus "ruining its reputation." Yet Disney has baseball diamonds at WWoS. Go figure.

And it's a featured part of the All-Star Sports resort too! What a bad influence on my kids when we stayed there and enjoyed the home-run pool.

 

[Planogirl]

We have a chain in our area called the Main Event whose primary thing seems to be bowling. They seem to do well but they are expensive and that might actually be the true reason for the decline.

In fact our town of about 100K has a Main Event and an independent bowling facility. They are both nice, clean places and the Main Event does serve beer. I'm not sure about Strikz, the other one, because I didn't pay attention when we checked out the place.

I've never heard of this bad reputation that bowling supposedly has. Interesting...

 

[osprey6]

Back on topic.

Is bowling still that big that it would warrant building a dedicated bowling center?

I'm close to 50 and have seen maybe a half dozen alleys close in my time with no new ones being built. My parents were both in leagues and had a family friend who was a pro on the circuit.

If I wanted to bowl, I would really have to think about where to go and it would be a medium long drive and I live in blue collar Pittsburgh, someplace that you would think bowling would still be popular.

But now that I write this maybe it would be a novelty and people would go.

I take it you haven't been to the new duckpin lanes behind Southside Hospital then?

Don't forget about the upscale ones in Pittsburgh Mills as well.

I assure you, it's still quite the popular activity in Monroeville and North Versailles!

But no, it's not the quite the same without Nick Perry around, is it?

 

[chartle]

I take it you haven't been to the new duckpin lanes behind Southside Hospital then?

Don't forget about the upscale ones in Pittsburgh Mills as well.

I assure you, it's still quite the popular activity in Monroeville and North Versailles!

But no, it's not the quite the same without Nick Perry around, is it?

Well I'm in the North Boroughs and Pittsburgh Mills is a trip for me. I think there used to be 2 places on McKnight road, one is now a Bed Bath and Beyond, the other I think was put of a strip mall and turned into a Circuit City which is now empty.

Next door in Bellevue they had Duck Pins which closed years ago and in Emsworth it became a Shop and Save.

If I wanted to bowl I could go to a dingy place in Ross Twp. or one on Nevel Island, it did just do some major remodeling but haven't been there since my sons stopped going to birthday parties.

Yes bowling stopped being popular when they cancelled Bowling for Dollars.

 

[Disney Von Drake]

What this all boils down to is filling hotel rooms. As we all know, WDW and the surrounding area is tremendously overbuilt with lodging facilities and it’s a 24/7 job to keep all those rooms full. Disney will put up with most anything to fill those rooms. They tolerate Pop Warner, the National Cheerleading Championships’, Brazilian Tour Groups and more silly marathons than you can shake a stick at. They do it all for one reason, to fill those rooms! That’s why they wanted the bowlers there as well, to fill rooms.

Disney gave the USBC a chunk of land at the ESPN WWS complex to build their dream lanes. Osceola County was going to give $13 million to the USBC from tourist development taxes to fill offsite rooms. And remember that part of the deal included ESPN televising all of the tournament play and making advertising revenue. Yet no company was willing to build, finance or operate such a facility even with all these incentives. I guess no one sees the profit potential about which some on this thread have spoken.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

What this all boils down to is filling hotel rooms. As we all know, WDW and the surrounding area is tremendously overbuilt with lodging facilities and it’s a 24/7 job to keep all those rooms full. Disney will put up with most anything to fill those rooms. They tolerate Pop Warner, the National Cheerleading Championships’, Brazilian Tour Groups and more silly marathons than you can shake a stick at. They do it all for one reason, to fill those rooms! That’s why they wanted the bowlers there as well, to fill rooms.

Disney gave the USBC a chunk of land at the ESPN WWS complex to build their dream lanes. Osceola County was going to give $13 million to the USBC from tourist development taxes to fill offsite rooms. And remember that part of the deal included ESPN televising all of the tournament play and making advertising revenue. Yet no company was willing to build, finance or operate such a facility even with all these incentives. I guess no one sees the profit potential about which some on this thread have spoken.

Wow...a post without calling bowlers thugs, gamblers or drinkers!

See how easy that was?

Now if you could just refrain from trying to get jabs in with marathoners, school kids and foreigners. Thanks for having the restraint to not mention all of the other conventions, corporate training and the other visitors throughout the US and World who come to WDW as part of group other than their immediate family.

It seems like earlier in the thread you mentioned that the Pro Bowling associations have had a bad track record of being profitable and having to merge with each other. So does the lack of funding for new lanes to be sponsored by the USBC have more to do with concern about a family-friendly bowling alley being profitable OR does it have more to do with the USBC being a floundering sports organization? What bank would invest in an organization that has a track record of failure even if their location is on prime real estate? If I were Disney, I'd want to give away land they bought for pennies back in the 60's and make someone else bear all the risk too! What a great deal for them! Just because there were no takers on that deal doesn't mean that Disney may not take risk in the future to do it themselves. There would just be no rights given to the professional bowlers, which should please you tremendously. I think the thing preventing that from happening is Disney's lack of successful marketing of the WWoS complex itself to visitors not travelling as part of a football, baseball, soccer, cheerleading or other sports group. Who would want to pay for a visit to the WWoS complex and then pay for a game of bowling on top of it? Disney was evidently hoping to shift that cost to the USBC, but that didn't work. Now, they first have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to draw guests to WWoS.