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Author Topic: Bowling is not dying or dead  (Read 3861 times)

Bowlaholic

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Bowling is not dying or dead
« on: January 07, 2017, 03:34:36 PM »
So many threads on BR for one reason or another end up with posts that make  reference to the death of bowling.  I'm sorry, but in my area of Florida bowling is flourishing and growing.  I have visited and talked with many owners of centers and pro shops all across the country in my extended travels each year and most of them are not subscribing to the death of bowling.
True, there are centers closing all the time because there are just as a whole to many still left from bowlings peak times.  And there are good reasons for many of these to be closed e.g. centers are old and have not been maintained, property is worth more than the center, owners die and family does not wish to continue the business, to costly for some to remodel, investment in party/boutique/cosmic bowling vs. league,etc. But, again "thinning of the herd" to match the current times, does not to me mean bowling is dying.
Some folks see the glass as half empty, I see it as half full. If that's bad, so be it.
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leftybowler70

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2017, 03:46:02 PM »
While the sport/game of bowling is/will not be the same,  as a whole I also believe that it will survive, but with all the factors that transcended it what it is today, we also have to accept that reality as well.
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bcw1969

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2017, 03:59:37 PM »
I too am in Florida, South florida to be exact, and while bowling in general is on the decline, it is thriving lately at my center. I bowl in a 56 lane house and in my Thursday nite league we have 47 teams. They are pretty much full on the early shift mon - Friday here. Being that that there are a lot fewer bowling centers in the area than there used to be 30 years ago might make things seem more popular than it really is. 
I found this old article online, it's from one of our local papers. A good bit of the centers listed in this article(from 1988) no longer exist.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-07-28/news/8802130761_1_two-bowling-bowling-centers-league-bowling

The Bowlarena lanes listed, that I practiced at a few times is now a storage facility. Cypress creek lanes, where the bowling class I took back in the 80's when I was in community college, is now a parking lot for "park & ride". Flamingo lanes is long gone. The few that still exist that are listed in the article have long since gone by different names. It's sad, but a reality.

Brad
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SG17

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2017, 05:49:30 PM »
one region flourishing is nice; but that will be one hell of a commute for league from the west coast to Florida or to Asia just to bowl league
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Bowlaholic

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2017, 05:53:25 PM »
If you can move, we would welcome you to Florida.
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jbungard

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2017, 06:53:25 PM »
It's not dead but its certainly going in the wrong direction: A total of 9 million ABC/WIBC members in 1979 is down to 1.69 million USBC members (men, women and kids) in 2013/2014 and 1.57 million in 2014/2015 (7% down in one year). There were about 12,000 bowling centers in the mid-1960s down to 4,402 in the 2015/2016 season; dropping by over 100 centers net each year. Those of us living in retirement states such as Arizona and Florida may not see this to the degree seen in blue collar states due to the influx of retiree bowlers but it's not going the right direction anywhere that I know of.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2017, 06:55:07 PM by jbungard »
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luv2C10falll

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2017, 07:05:30 PM »
That was really funny,Bowlaholic !!
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Bowlaholic

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2017, 09:36:27 PM »
From what I see here in Florida and based on the centers across the country that I have talked to, I believe it has hit rock bottom and has stabilized at around today's numbers.  As I previously stated the closing so many have experienced is sad, but frankly necessary because there were just to many centers left from days past to support today numbers (members).
Now we who love this sport have to do everything we can to get new folks introduced to bowling, get involved with youth leagues, work with the local schools to include bowling in their athletic programs, support bowling on all levels including the PBA, WPBA and yes even the USBC.  It just blows mind when I mention to many bowlers who claim to love the sport that there is a PBA event on TV and they have no clue about it or who today is a pro bowler(s), etc.
I think getting bowling in the Olympics will open an opportunity  for new bowlers to take up the sport. If we let it die, it will die, but we can stop the bleeding and grow the sport, but it takes time & effort.  I am & will continue to do my part at our local centers, hopefully all of us who love bowling will also.   
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ThomasBowling

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Re: Bowling is not dying or dead
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2017, 04:04:14 PM »
At last year's last practice, we got a visit from a youngster. He was like 12 years old. And he apparently wanted to join a bowling club.
He didn't show up for the first practice this year, but hopefully we'll see him eventually. Or maybe he joined another club.
Our club isn't exactly attractive to young people, since most of the people in the club are 28 years old and up.
And no coach.
But hopefully we'll get at least 2 members to get a coach certificate this season.

We might've gotten one new member who is around 20 years old. He came for the first practice.
It was such a surprise to see him, I've worked in the same kindergarten as him. We stopped working there almost at the same time. Never thought I'd see him again.
Hope he wants to continue to bowl with us.

I think our club will get bigger, but slowly.
As long as we can show good results, more people will take notice.

My point, it's not dying in my area either. It's slowly growing. But so few youngsters join.
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Sometimes.
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