Changing Lanes

From Saturday-afternoon telecasts to Kingpin to upscale experiences like Bowlmor Lanes, bowling’s cultural standing has been anything but consistent over the past few decades. One thing is clear: Anyone who’s investing in bowling is doing it with private-equity money. What that means in practice animates Dave Denison’s inquiry; a longtime bowler himself, Denison drives around New England to see what the state of the industry really is, and where it’s headed. Bowling usually loves strikes, but in this case it has two strikes against it.

In the interest of journalistic inquiry, I decided I would make a February road trip to take in some of the latest developments. I dropped in on a Bowlero in the old mill town of Lowell and then drove to Town Line. It was a Sunday afternoon, the worst time to go. The Bowlero was noisy and crowded, with the lights dim and the music loud. When I started to bowl, the tired old 1976 hit “More Than a Feeling” assaulted my ears. I was bowling next to an elderly man—yes, bowling alone—who competes in two senior leagues during the week. He assured me that during the weekdays, the lights are up, and the music is off. To its credit, the center hasn’t given up on leagues. The attendant told me that local league bowlers who come to practice get a discount, plus eight free games a week. For the rest of us, it’s pricey. I paid $42.45 for five games. That’s the Bowlero model: raise prices and cut costs.