International Bowling Industry Magazine August 2014 by International Bowling Industry Magazine

CONTENTS

VOL 22.8

6 ISSUE AT HAND

22 COVER STORY

Words You Never Want to Hear

Play Ball!

By Scott Frager

8 INDUSTRY ISSUES

Larry Schmittou has had successful careers in both baseball and bowling. He shares his insights into how the business of baseball is similar to the business of bowling, all with a big dose of fun. By Mark Miller

THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager

OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath heath@bowlingindustry.com

CONTRIBUTORS Fred Eisenhammer Fred Groh Patty Heath Mark Miller

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks

On the Block Brunswick quits bowling and sells it's centers; the industry reacts.

www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424

34 WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME

By Fred Groh

FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)

Rick Auerbach The former MLB player trades homers for strikes. By Fred Eisenhammer

16 INDUSTRY ISSUES

39 PROFILE

The New No. 1 IBI’s Fred Groh talks with BowlmorAMF chief Tom Shannon about why he bought Brunswick’s centers and the part they’ll play in his chain of 300+.

Trouble with the Curve 22

By Mark Miller

50 REMEMBER WHEN

18 OPERATIONS

Coca-Cola 1951

Dealing with It

By Patty Heath

Untangling the mess of credit card charges and a questionnaire to help you find the best merchant service provider.

42 Classifieds 48 Datebook 34

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August 2014

www.BowlingIndustry.com

HOTLINE: 888-424-2695 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy of International Bowling Industry is sent free to every bowling center, independently owned pro shop and collegiate bowling center in the U.S., and every military bowling center and pro shop worldwide. Publisher reserves the right to provide free subscriptions to those individuals who meet publication qualifications. Additional subscriptions may be purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50 per year. Subscriptions for Canada and Mexico are $65 per year, all other foreign subscriptions are $80 per year. All foreign subscriptions should be paid in U.S. funds using International Money Orders. POSTMASTER: Please send new as well as old address to International Bowling Industry, 12655 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2014, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.

MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:

By Fred Groh

But manager Mike Widmar has no trouble with bowling.

12655 Ventura Boulevard Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com

49 Showcase

THE ISSUE AT HAND

Words You Never Want to Hear When your parents say, “You’re mom and I are getting a divorce.” When your employer says, “You’re job has been terminated.” When your wife sobs, “Honey, our puppy ran away.” And pretty much any conversation that begins with, “We need to talk.”

Sometimes, the words are half-expected. They may be hard to hear but they really aren’t a surprise. Other times they hit you like a ton of bricks. That’s what happened when Brunswick Corporation announced the sale of its bowling centers division to Bowlmor AMF. The same announcement told us that the bowling manufacturing division would also go up for sale. It was a bowling industry equivalent of a shot heard ’round the world. I first heard the rumblings at Bowl Expo. There was a little chatter, but nothing to

verify. Then a few weeks later an email hit my mailbox, then another and another, and then the formal announcement. Within the pages of this magazine and online at www.BowlingIndustry.com, you can follow and participate in the discussion about this earth-shattering news. You can voice your opinion about the effects this may have on the industry and your business in particular. There has been wild speculation about the possibilities: some good, some bad. I’ve even heard a conspiracy theory or two. What do you see in Brunswick’s decisions? For myself, when I take stock I believe that the Brunswick board of directors really did, and are doing, the right thing: looking out for the best interest of their shareholders. Stripping away the “warm and fuzzy” of the Brunswick brand, maybe it will be even better off in the hands of visionaries like Tom Shannon and the yet-to-be-chosen suitor of the capital equipment division. Perhaps corporate headquarters regarded the bowling divisions as the ugly duckling of the Brunswick family, and now it will really find its swan’s feathers. As tough as it may be to hear that you got fired, or that your parents are getting a divorce, or that your dog ran away, we are often justified in finding comfort in the thought that everything will all work out in the end.

– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com

4THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com Change is hard, especially in business. However, kudos to Andrea Gage-Werren, general manager of La Habra 300 Bowl in La Habra, CA. Her enthusiasm is refreshing versus the doom and gloom we so often get. Even more importantly, a big shout-out for her willingness to share her thoughts in her post on IBI Online. “From the viewpoint of a relatively young General Manager, I believe that bowling is on the upswing in terms of popularity.” Seeing all the parties, leagues, open play, marketing and social media ideas through the eyes of this young manager might put a new spin on your view. What’s your thought for the day about bowling? Share it with bowling folks across the industry at “Blog Posts” on www.BowlinIndustry.com home page. Not a member? Now’s the time.

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August 2014

INDUSTRY ISSUES

By Fred Groh

runswick, a major bowling name since company president Moses Bensinger helped organize ABC in 1895, has announced its decision to exit the industry. The news came in a release July 17 notifying news media that the company had accepted an unsolicited offer from Bowlmor AMF for the 85 centers in the Brunswick portfolio. The sale, for $270 million, is expected to close about the middle of October. With the divestiture of its bowling centers, Brunswick also decided to seek a buyer for its bowling capital equipment division, the release said. Lazard Asset Management is consulting on the sale, which Brunswick wants to complete by the end of 2014. Brunswick will retain its billiards business. Tom Shannon, Bowlmor AMF chairman, CEO and president, said, the acquisition “will provide us with a strategic foothold in a number of additional markets while enabling us to further scale our operations and mission by leveraging our strong marketing, employee training and operational infrastructure.” Already the world’s largest chain after picking up 259 former AMF centers last year, Bowlmor AMF will own 335 centers when the purchase is completed. Chains next in size are Round1, a Japanese brand with 100+ locations including three in the U.S., and Ardent Leisure (formerly Macquarie Leisure Trust) with about 50 units in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. In a conference call later on the day of the announcements, Brunswick Corp. chairman and CEO Dustan McCoy told reporters that the divestiture had not been prompted by prospects in the marine or fitness industries, where Brunswick will continue to be active. Sales in the two industries accounted for 92% of company net revenue last year. “Initially, we thought we knew what we could do with the bowling business,” McCoy said. “We knew that

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it was going to take investment to continue to update concepts in retail centers and we knew it would take investment to either convert centers to [those] new concepts or to buy other locations, and we have a very good view of what the returns for those are. “And while the returns were something we could live with being in the business, when Bowlmor AMF came to us and gave us the opportunity to exit the business at what we thought for us was an attractive multiple, it told us, ‘Let’s take the cash and invest the cash in our remaining businesses because we think there’s more return opportunity there.’ It was really that simple.” McCoy said the company will retain ‘Brunswick’ for its umbrella name and license the name for bowling products. “It will be not a carte blanche. There will be restrictions on what can be done [by] the business, and we’ll need to be consistent with the business we’re doing today so that we don’t harm the present name’s goodwill.” Of the company’s $3.9 billion in net sales for 2013, the Bowling and Billiards segment accounted for $310 million, with 60% ($187m) from bowling centers and a third ($101m) from bowling capital equipment. The segment generated $27 million in EBIT for the year. Brent Perrier, president of Bowling Products (capital equipment), said he received “six or seven” calls from parties interested in buying Bowling Products in the first three business days following the announcements. “We’re involved in getting them up to speed,” Perrier said, referring to Lazard. “Then we’ll be approaching people that have expressed interest in purchasing the company as well as probably putting some feelers out to other interested parties.” Jim Fox, president of Bowling Retail (bowling centers), said the Bowlmor AMF offer had been under consideration at Brunswick since the first quarter this year. “My responsibility is to continue to lead the business and operate ‘business as usual’ for Brunswick Corp. between now and the close of this transaction,” Fox said. “We are also helping Bowlmor AMF learn how we operate and assisting them in preparation for the change of ownership.” Perrier indicated he has been “amazed” by some reactions to the announcements. “People say, ‘Is my warranty no longer good?’ Of course it is. ‘Brunswick is going out of business.’ Nothing could be

INDUSTRY ISSUES further from the truth. “It’s absolutely business as usual,” Perrier said, stressing the same point as Fox. “A lot of times, businesses are sold because they’re unsuccessful. That wasn’t the case with Bowling Retail and that isn’t the case with Bowling Products today. We’re profitable in a very stressed market situation. “We’ve got a great team and a great brand. We’re spending a lot of money on new products and we’re out there to serve our customers today and tomorrow just like we have been for the last decades. “Brunswick Bowling Products is still part of Brunswick Corp., and even when we have new ownership, any contract signed under Brunswick Corp. will carry on to the new ownership.”

INDUSTRY RESPONSE Reaction was swift after the announcements were posted on BowlingIndustry.com. Frank Zhao in China (IBI cover story in April) called the news “shocking.” Retired Australian proprietor Peter Brierley termed the sale of the centers a “massive vote of no confidence in the Bowling Industry when a long term major player sells core assets for a paltry 18 months’ worth of turnover.” BPAA past-president Joe Schumacker wrote that most long-timers in the industry would feel Brunswick’s exit “as a body blow.” Calling the move “a milestone,” he also saw it as an occasion for renewed commitment to re-energizing the industry. “Although it appears the options for Bowling [businesses] are fewer today then even five years ago, if we as a group can rationally justify a decision to invest in competitive bowling, we can assure a future for Bowling,” he wrote. In phone calls to other industry leaders for their first reaction, respondents told us they were “flabbergasted,” “saddened” and “devastated.” Brunswick’s move was “good,” “bad,” and “very positive.” Except for parties to a closely-held rumor at Bowl Expo that something was in the works with Brunswick, everyone was surprised. Jeff Bojé, BPAA past-president and current BPAA treasurer: “The effect on the industry is going to be a huge black eye. I can see it now. The headline’s going to be: ‘The Day Bowling Died.’ “I can think of something positive. There’s any number of people inside the industry that might buy [Bowling Products]. Private companies tend to be much better run than a public company. “Tom’s [Shannon] up against a huge endeavor,” Bojé added. “I would not take the CEO job of [Bowlmor AMF] if you paid me $20 million a year because I don’t like to lose and I think that’s a mountain only God can climb.” Tom Martino, current BPAA president: “I was flabbergasted. Second impression after I thought about it for a while: a very positive happening. Bowlmor AMF sees the value of the Brunswick bowling center group. The capital equipment side I believe is a positive as well because it’s a profitable piece of business; if some other individual or company buys that asset, they are going to be very happy with it.” Terry Brenneman, Bowlers’ Supply, distributor: “It was a real surprise. 10

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I guess the good is Tom Shannon is certainly a very smart business person and marketer, and if he feels strongly enough to invest this type of money, he must feel the future for bowling is rosy. The bad is that I always liked the idea of competition between AMF and Brunswick on the capital equipment. I certainly would like to see a strong entity purchase [Bowling Products] to provide the competition; it helps the consumer.” Brenneman said many of his pro shop customers were concerned about possible new policies under Bowlmor AMF ownership. “The change in hours at the AMF centers,” after Bowlmor AMF acquired them, “hurt many pro shops when their operating hours were cut,” he reported. “[Pro shops are] an important part of the business we certainly don’t want to lose.” Sandy Hansell, Sandy Hansell and Associates, bowling center broker: “Over the years, Brunswick has been a great supporter of the industry. They supported Bowl Expo and all the state conventions, the PBA and industry activities. I think the issue will be: will the new owners continue that type of policy?” Fred Kaplowitz, president, The Kaploe Group, industry consultant: “My first reaction, it was like a death in the family. [As a proprietor] I’m going to have to explain to my banker why one of the biggest companies in the bowling industry divested themselves of the bowling industry. I’m going to turn around and say, ‘But look, here’s Bowlmor AMF who wants to grow their share in the bowling industry. Isn’t that encouraging?’” Wally Hall, BPAA past-president, on the purchase by Bowlmor AMF: “Interesting move. Bold. I didn’t expect it so soon after the creation of Bowlmor AMF, because they’ve still got to address the challenges of that deal. Now they’ve created a higher break-even point for that group of centers than what existed before when Brunswick owned it, so now they’ve got to perform better than Brunswick have been performing. And Brunswick in the retail division [centers] have not been a bad performer.” ❖ Read the latest on Brunswick’s exit from bowling, comment, and read previews of related stories in IBI at www.BowlingIndustry.com.

Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.

INDUSTRY ISSUES

THE NEW

NO. 1

In chain operations, it’s now Bowlmor AMF by a long way. Tom Shannon, Bowlmor AMF’s chairman, CEO and president, talks with IBI ’s Fred Groh about the Brunswick bowls he bought and the future he’s launching for his soon-to-be 300+ centers. IBI: Why did you want the Brunswick centers and why so soon after acquiring AMF? Tom Shannon: Well, there are certain advantages to scale. We’re a marketing-driven company and having more centers gives you the ability to cast a wider net, certainly in terms of national marketing spend. The bigger your center base, the easier it is to amortize these big national TV buys and other sorts of buys. I guess the other thing is that we’re fundamentally bullish on bowling. We’ve been in bowling now coming up on 18 years and it’s what we do and we love it. So “why not get bigger?,” I guess.

IBI: Have you given a thought to taking your company public? TS: No, we haven’t thought about exit at all. I think there’s a lot left to do before we would consider something like that. There’s an enormous amount of potential in the portfolios and we’re really just starting to see that hit on the AMF side. We increased profitability very quickly [on the AMF side] by putting some disciplines in place, but we took a revenue hit because we cut back hours of operation and made some other conscious decisions to stop some unprofitable activity. Now we’re really in growth mode. So we’ve invested a tremendous amount of capital back in the properties. Last year, our first year [as Bowlmor AMF], we deployed $35 million back into the centers. This year the number’s $45 million, and that does not include Brunswick. They have their own capital plan that we’ll most likely be following. What’s happening is that the AMF portfolio, which had been underinvested in for a very long time, is now starting to really shape up. The centers are looking better and better. We’re now in the second year [of] what I consider a three- or four-year turnaround plan. [AMF centers are] a business that needed addressing in every way, from training and hiring of staff—the way that impacted the customer—marketing messages, sales, the facilities, loss-prevention technology—everything needed to be re-done. And we’re talking about a company the size of AMF now becoming the size of AMF and Brunswick put together, and it’s just a lot of work. I’m not 12

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Tom Shannon

even thinking about exit. It’s at least a couple of years off.

IBI: How are you financing the renovations? TS: We’re financing all the improvements out of cash flow. The company generates an enormous amount of cash.

IBI: Did you pick up AMF’s financial interest in QuibicaAMF? TS: Yes, we got half of QuibicaAMF. Continued on page 16

INDUSTRY ISSUES Continued from page 12

IBI: Brunswick has four brands. How will they fit into the Bowlmor AMF portfolio? TS: We have a five-year licensing agreement that we

although that will not happen at least in the first year. They [Brunswick] don’t have a sales presence in the majority of their centers; we would probably increase that, have more customerfacing people for booking parties and things like that, but we’re talking about stuff at the margin, right? Fundamentally, I would like the Brunswick division of Bowlmor AMF to just sort of run as it has run—for the last hundred years, I guess.

negotiated, so we’re going to keep all those brands in existence. I think Brunswick has a lot of brand equity, every bit as much brand equity as AMF, if not more. AMF was 3½ times [the size] of Brunswick and yet people seem to know Brunswick every bit as much as AMF.

IBI: Some people think the Brunswick purchase may be a shot in the arm for the industry on the theory that a private company often looks after its properties better than a conglomerate does. TS: I heard someone put it pretty well on the Brunswick

IBI: Will the Brunswick centers change any of your plans for brands on the AMF side? TS: No.

side. There was obviously some initial concern among the Brunswick folks: “We know Brunswick. We’ve been part of Brunswick our whole lives, and now we’re going over, and who is this guy Tom Shannon? We hear he doesn’t like leagues”— which isn’t true, by the way; I love leagues and we are completely committed to that business; in fact, I created a new position, vice president of leagues, in charge [of] the care and nurturing of leagues. [But] when an outsider comes in, people are naturally concerned. One of the directors of operations said to one of his fellow D.O.s, “You know, this is a good thing, and I’ll tell you why. When Brunswick senior management got up in the morning, they thought about boats. When the Bowlmor AMF senior management wakes up in the morning, they think about bowling.” I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do this. What’s really exciting is that we have the scale and the resources to really reinvigorate bowling. It’s no secret to any of us in the industry how difficult things have become, and I think you put it well when you said that private companies often run the centers better. We’re very entrepreneurial and we’re very focused on creating a really good customer experience and making bowling hyper-relevant in the mind of the consumer. We’re now quite large—which is quite surprising to me, that we got here this quickly—but what it enables us to do is hire the best talent at every level, from the senior management down to even the hourly employee. We’re not there yet and we’re actively hiring, actively looking for general managers, for assistant managers who have growth potential, and we have the resources to pay up for talent and to re-invest in the properties and to get the marketing message out. You need to do all three. Through size, we’re able to achieve the things we need to thrive as a company, and I think there will be a spillover effect to the industry that will be very beneficial. ❖

IBI: What operational changes will we see once Bowlmor AMF actually begins running the Brunswick centers? TS: We’re going to run Brunswick as a standalone company for a lengthy period. I don’t know how long that’ll be, at least six months. We’re not changing anything like hours, or pricing, or reporting structure, nothing. There are a couple of reasons for that. One is Brunswick is a very stable business. It’s very well-run and it’s not in need of turnaround like AMF was. The other thing is that there’s a lot that we can learn from Brunswick. They’re a very disciplined company in how they run the business. Brunswick is fundamentally a manufacturing company and they run the bowling centers with the same discplines and process that you would run a manufacturing plant. I want to learn those. I want to learn what it is they do better. I know some of the things they do better; I want to learn how and why they do them. There will be changes that will flow from Bowlmor AMF to Brunswick and there will be changes that will flow from Brunswick to Bowlmor AMF. For example, Brunswick does a much better job of maintaining and nurturing their league base. It’s simply because historically they’ve taken a very disciplined approach to that; they’re very pro-active. They’ve had more stable center management, too, and that helps in terms of maintaining those long-term relationships. They’re also more disciplined when it comes to maintenance issues and energy consumption and some things on purchasing. We didn’t buy Brunswick to change it. We really bought Brunswick to maintain it, and then as we got through diligence, we found “here’s a lot of stuff we can learn from Brunswick”; that’s just up-side. Brunswick will benefit from our marketing spend, which will approach $20 million over all the brands—a lot of marketing. There will be interior and cosmetic upgrades to the Brunswick centers over time, just like there were on the AMF side, 16

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Read the latest on Brunswick’s exit from bowling, comment, and read previews of related stories in IBI at www.BowlingIndustry.com.

OPERATIONS

By Fred Groh

merchant services statement, detailing credit card transactions, has caused more than one business owner to glaze over. No wonder. One merchant’s actual statement for a single month shows transactions with seven different cards from Visa, each with a different fee (rate + transaction cost) the merchant paid: VISA CPS REWARDS 2 @ 1.95% + $.10 VISA SIG PREF CNP @ 2.40% + $.10 VISA BUS ENH CNP @ 2.45% + $.15 VISA SIG BUS CNP @ 2.60% + $.20 VISA US REG @ .05% + $.22 VISA BUS CNP DB @ 2.45% + $.10 VISA CPS/EC BASC DB @ 1.65% + $.15 VISA CPS/ECOMM BASC @ 1.80% + $.10 Customers at a busy restaurant can pay with 80 or 90 different cards in a month, according to David Quintana, founding partner of 360 Payment Solutions (San Jose, CA), a merchant processing company. As to fees, merchants may pay PIN debit fees, address verification service fees, Internet gateway, voice authorization, network access, setup, reprogramming fees... You get the idea. “Our business is nothing different than a retail-wholesale business, much like a retail clothing store,” offers Steve Ciabattoni, CEO of 360 Payment Solutions, slicing the complexity into bite-size pieces. “They buy clothes from a manufacturer at a wholesale 18

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cost and retail them to make a profit. We buy rates at a wholesale cost and we retail them to make a profit.” All merchent processing companies (processors) have the same wholesale rates, called interchange rates, set by the credit card issuers such as banks. The rates are determined by variables such as processing method (keyed, swiped, Internet), type of account (rewards, consumer, business), and type of business, but mainly by the risk of chargeback and fraud and whether the card offers rewards, Ciabattoni explains. Reward cards cost the merchant more. The revenue from interchange rates goes to the card-issuing bank. The card brand (Visa, MasterCard or the like) adds an assessment for each transaction. This income goes to the card brand. Assessments are the same for all processors. The third element of the merchant’s cost for a transaction is the processor’s markup. This is where you can go shopping. Ben Dwyer of CardFellow.com illustrates the cost breakdown with an imagined $50 transaction using a consumer, no-rewards Visa card: Interchange: 1.54% plus $0.10 = $0.87 goes to the issuing bank Assessment: 0.11% plus $0.0195 to Visa when the transaction is authorized and another $0.003 when it's settled = $0.07 goes to Visa Card Markup: .20% plus $0.10 to the processor = $0.20 goes to the processor Merchant’s share: $50 - $0.87 - $0.07 - $0.20 = $48.86 (2.28% overall effective rate) The overall effective rate is the most important of the numbers. Calculated as the percentage of total fees per transaction (total fees ÷ total sales), the overall effective rate is the bottom-line figure. It’s also an overall indication of how well your processor is doing for your business.

OPERATIONS “You shouldn’t be shopping for rates,” Dwyer advises (“Credit Card Processing Fee and Rates,” at CardFellow.com). “Instead, you should be shopping for the lowest overall markup over [interchange rates]. Furthermore, you want to look at the whole picture and consider the effective rate. Don’t just focus on the interchange markup or another single fee.” The processor’s share of a credit card transaction can vary with the processor’s pricing model as well. Adding even more complication in sorting out the charges to a merchant, there are three models. In base and surcharge, as the name suggests, the merchant pays a flat base rate subject to surcharges in certain transactions. In tiered pricing (also called bundled or bucket pricing), the processor assigns a transaction to one or another of several tiers (buckets), each of which has a different markup. In interchange-plus pricing (also called pass-through), the processor’s markup is a fixed percentage (the “plus”) on all transactions. Like any business owner, bowling proprietors want to know exactly what they are paying for. Knowing more enables closer scrutiny of expenses and provides more points of comparison between competing suppliers. A helpful guide in appraising competing processors is offered by “The Processor’s Polygraph,” a three-page form devised by 360 Payment Solutions (see next column). Reading a merchant services statement isn’t too tough when you know what the abbreviations mean (your processor should be able to tell you if you’re unclear). Understanding its import for a business isn’t so easy. Is it worth the time and effort to learn? Consider the money at stake over the long run. ❖

Fred Groh is a regular contributor to IBI and former managing editor of the magazine.

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GOING SHOPPING A proprietor who wants to compare credit card processing companies could submit the following query to each of his prospects. We’ve adapted it from one section of a three-page form, “The Processor’s Polygraph,” developed by 360 Payment Solutions of San Jose, CA. The form is not intended to be a full substitute for consultation with a processing company. Our comments are in square brackets. 1. Supply a definitive fee and discount per item (DPI) for the following: Cards: swiped, signature, check/debit/signature-based, key-entered, rewards1, rewards2, small ticket debit, corporate Fees: transaction, IRS regulatory, compliance, PCI, statement, annual, installation, maintenance [‘IRS regulatory’ covers a processor’s expenses pursuant to new merchant liability for misreporting to IRS; ‘compliance’ and ‘PCI’ are connected with security procedures; an installation fee may be charged for plugging in a terminal; ‘maintenance’ is miscellaneous account fees.] 2. Your profit margin? 3. How long are my rates guaranteed not to change? 4. Term of your contract. [Some processors do not require a contract.] 5. Your cancellation fee. 6. Your funding timeline. [How quickly the merchant gets his money.] 7. Do you refund to me the interchange fees on customer refunds? [Visa refunds a substantial part of the fee to the processor; some processors then refund to the merchant.] 8. When do you debit your fees from the money you deposit in my account? (Daily, monthly, weekly) Do I have a choice? 9. Do you charge retrieval or chargeback fees? Amount? 10. Will I need to purchase or lease new equipment? Who backs up the warranty? [Terminal lease terms should be examined very carefully to see whether the lease is advantageous everything considered.] 11. Do you have an online portal? Your monthly fee for this service? 12. Explain how my business will benefit from the Durbin Amendment (2011) to Dodd-Frank. [On debit cards, Durbin forced a lower rate and raised the transaction fee.] 13. Describe your chargeback processes. 14. Describe your arbitration process. 15. How does your company handle rate increases and decreases from Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express? Attach: Your proposal, including my monthly savings. Complete terms and conditions of your merchant agreement. If interchange-plus pricing is used, attach a copy of the most recent interchange tables. Document detailing your rate increases and decreases over past two years. Sample copies of two consecutive monthly statements for businesses with my SIC [industry] code.

COVER STORY

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August 2014

COVER STORY

iller M rk Ma y B re r we e e n ow or , and uring m ith e v i t d w xecu u held ement e , h o v l o itt ac f inv p chm t, co cou Larry S cades o ive u u g . d s l l e title three d asebal e wou hmitto n b Sc o n f ue y a , o th ort lieve an le 50s or leag to p s the to be ir midd e min ough n e in rd s ha at by th ning n hard e ' t i e w l d h i o t n gue Wh like . After long a ment. jor lea ,” g n e a i r ove ime eth hm reti ked som t was t d wor isurely ball wit ant to m e and ha le tw ase wi her kne ses, he e into a tay in b ly didn' been t ad chi os eal ettl om fran tably s nities t but I r aid. “I h ored ew b r u g s , t o n t r k f ti raf trea com d oppo marke residen ve s ings fo wling. i , a r t i h o N t I T “ bo ting g mpe w th ille, a co ith a fe rned to anagin scou Nashv s h t b i u m u t g w l w n e c d e s t rs ther around m. So h dent an 13 cen a lifelo t.” o e y h n i i t n a d s e th so ma piddle tisfied h is pres h own by India n o e u d e sa ar as to hic lik Yet Sure, h g really Schmit ent w and ne ually h t . m y d n c n d l e -o thi tai ea hing tuck ensu but no 74-year Enter Ken owledg , somet s g y s l i r n yea day the S Fam ghbori ess kn model ilaritie ei To of S& sin ng sim lus n ball bu l bowli r p e any n e m t u f r e e s s s a e s a p e es th he enn . His b ry succ se of rt,” o o e in T i u p v h a s O ec ea sa and d creat easy b ers. s. It’ n o i e e t help proved wo car er rela t m t s i o a t h s th een is cu betw owling “B

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COVER STORY said. “But it’s also fun.” “In minor league baseball you have your season-ticket holders who I relate to league bowlers, who you see more often and take it more serious. They wanted the team to win and play well similar to a league bowler taking it more serious and knowing more about the sport. “The people who came to baseball games four or five times a year came to have a good time. They wanted the team to win but wanted to have a good time like the open play bowler. They like to bowl well but don’t know anything about oil patterns and don’t care. They are more interested in the hot dog being good.” Schmittou’s philosophy remains simple: give the people what they want and they will show up. If they want great birthday parties, to jump on a bungee jump, bowl 10 games, join a league—cater to all of them. Make sure your food, beverage and alcohol are top-notch. Train employees to be friendly, personable and caring. Ironically, Schmittou’s foray into bowling center ownership happened because of baseball. That’s because the former Melrose Bowl was located near Herschel Greer Stadium where the Nashville Sounds team played; he owned the team for 19 years. “I knew the owner had died and thought it would be fun to run that center and give me something to do,” Schmittou said. Though his offer was turned down, it alerted the grapevine of his bowling interests. That included the owners of a Murfreesboro, TN, center. There also was a guy named Rick Scott, then a businessman and venture capitalist whose early investments included a Connecticut bowling center. Today,

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August 2014

1 1. Ernie Banks, Larry and Phil Niekro 2. Larry with Hank Aaron 3. George Steinbrenner and Larry

Scott is seeking reelection as governor of Florida. Schmittou met Scott when major league baseball contacted him about putting together a group to buy the Kansas City Royals. Though that deal didn’t happen, it led to Schmittou and Scott becoming business partners. Their first bowling venture occurred in 2000 when they purchased the leases on three Louisville, KY, centers. Studying the business model of the Bowl America chain, Schmittou thought the best chance for success was in regionalization. With that in mind, S&S added and sold numerous establishments, holding as many as 15. Today, it features four in metro Nashville (Hendersonville Strike and Spare/Circus World, Donelson Plaza, Hillwood, and Murfreesboro), three in Knoxville (Family, Western Avenue, and Fountain), four in metro Louisville (Fern Valley, Executive Strike and Spare, Tenpin, and Hoosier), Western Bowl in Cincinnati and Cardinal Lanes in Paducah, KY. The centers range from more traditional facilities like Family and Cardinal to the 74,000-square-foot Hendersonville Strike and Spare Family Fun Center/Circus World where Schmittou and the corporate offices are located. Besides bowling, Hendersonville features entertainment options like bungee jumping, laser tag, roller skating, and bumper cars. “Initially we leased everything,” Schmittou said. “Our emphasis over the years has shifted to where we own as many

COVER STORY properties as we can. We’ve been pretty selective. If an offer presented to us is too high or just didn’t fit, we don’t do it. And I try to stay within a 300-mile radius so I can drive it in one day.” Schmittou not only regularly visits each center but personally meets with as many leagues as possible. He’s hired managers who must be doing something right, since Schmittou said business has improved through the years. “We’ve made the margin of profit we look for to reinvest in our centers,” he said. “We’re not ones to go in and make 20% and put every penny in our pocket. We’ve taken more of an approach like Bowl America did to get rid of any debts you have first. Secondly,

if you need a new scoring system, put it in. If you need new carpet, put it in.” Schmittou said his centers take in about $18 million in bowling lineage with only 10% coming from leagues. That amounts to 50% of total revenue, down from 5556% when he started. Food, beverage and liquor now make up 32% of the chain’s revenues, up from 27%. The remaining income is split between entertainment and pro shop rentals and sales. “We don’t throw bad money after bad money, but do what you can,” he

said. “You make yourself modern. In my opinion, the old traditional bowling alleys are dead. There’s no hope for them. It’s just a matter of time before they disappear. I think the future of bowling is creating fun whether that’s fun bowling in a league or something else.” Schmittou knew bowling was fun from occasional visits to the old Eaglewood Lanes while attending Nashville’s Cohn High School and Peabody Teachers College. He even joined a league of fellow Nashville Public School System teachers in the early 1960s, averaging about 160. But a sports career outside the classroom began taking him away from 28

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COVER STORY the lanes. It started as a junior high school football and basketball coach and later as a high school lead basketball coach. His baseball career started in 1965 as a territorial scout for the Cleveland Indians. He became Vanderbilt University’s head baseball coach and football recruiter in 1968. By the time he left 10 years later, his teams won more than 300 games and overall Southeast Conference championships in 1973 and 1974. In 1978, he put together a group of investors— including country singers Conway Twitty, Jerry Reed, Larry Gatlin, and Richard Sterbin—to bring minor league baseball back to Nashville. Their team was the Sounds and they played before big crowds at the then-new Hershel Greer Stadium. His work netted him Sporting News Double A and Southern League Executive of the Year honors in 1978 and 1981 and the same award for Class AAA in 1989. Schmittou later owned a second Nashville team, the Xpress, plus franchises in Daytona Beach, FL; Wichita, KS; Greensboro, NC; Salem, VA; and Winston-Salem, NC, around a 1983-86 stint as a vice president of marketing for the Texas Rangers. In 1997, he sold all his baseball properties and went into semi-retirement before

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4. Larry with Pete Rose 5. Larry with Roger Clemens

officially beginning his bowling career three years later. Schmittou, who was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, knew when he joined the bowling industry that league competition was declining so that didn’t bother him. “What did surprise me was most of my employees that I inherited still were thinking of the 1950s,” he said. “That’s been the biggest challenge: to get them out of ‘we don’t care about open bowlers; we used to have double and triple shifts.’ Those days are over. “I’ve had a hard time getting that out of some of my long-time people. And really most of my general managers of other centers I bought didn’t have that background and they accepted change a whole lot easier than those old-timers do. There’s still some resentment to that.” Schmittou also has a problem with what he perceives as a disconnect within the bowling industry, something he didn’t see in baseball. “The many organizations they have, the different philosophies they have, is

COVER STORY different than I’m used to,” he said. “In baseball everyone was on the same page. That’s not true in bowling and I think it’s a mistake.” He cited as evidence the merger that created USBC, that association’s focus on higher-average bowlers, eliminating many awards for loweraverage competitors, and the way the industry markets itself. So to provide more customer service, S&S created its own bowling awards program. Men who bowl 800 or better and women who shoot at least 700 earn jackets. Bowlers with other achievements can earn towels and gift certificates. When not overseeing his centers, Schmittou can be found doting on his 16 grandchildren, most of whom live around Nashville. He and his wife of 55 years, Shirley, have five children, four in Nashville, one in Chicago. Schmittou’s partner has become mostly silent since becoming Florida’s governor early in 2011. Scott’s investments were put into a blind trust and his current duties also have kept

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him mostly away from bowling. “He’s still very interested but not very involved like he used to be,” Schmittou said. “He was very involved before that. He even was a pretty good bowler.” Just as Scott generally stays out of bowling, Schmittou likes to keep his distance from bowling politics, rarely involving himself in the national scene. “I don’t worry about what somebody else is doing,” he said. “I just do what I’m familiar with and try to get my people to be totally honest with our customers, and it’s worked.” ❖

Mark Miller is a freelance writer, editor, and public relations specialist from Flower Mound, TX. He's the author of Bowling: America's Greatest Indoor Pastime available at Amazon.com or directly from him at markmywordstexas@gmail.com.

WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME By Fred Eisenhammer

After a pro baseball career, Rick Auerbach is on a roll with bowling.

et’s see Bo Jackson do it. Or Deion Sanders. Or any of the other acclaimed two-sport athletes. Let’s see if any ballyhooed multi-sport player can do what Rick Auerbach has done – prosper in a second sport 25 years after exiting the stage from his first sport. Auerbach put together an 11-year career as a major league infielder from 1971 to 1981 and is now shining as an elite amateur bowler in the Los Angeles area. He’s blasted four perfect games, notched a noteworthy 800 series and carries an average of more than 210. As for those aforementioned two-sport sensations: Jackson was a Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn who showcased extraordinary power and speed during a prominent career in the NFL and major leagues. Sanders also flourished in the NFL and majors, playing outfielder and defensive back for a number of teams. Unlike Jackson and Sanders, Auerbach wasn’t a star in the majors by any stretch of the imagination. But he had some glittering moments as a utility player for four teams, including three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and four with the Cincinnati

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Reds during their later years as the Big Red Machine. The key point is that Jackson and Sanders recorded their feats concurrently – at the peak of their athleticism. When Auerbach had long hung up his baseball spikes, he took up bowling in a Los Angeles league about seven years ago. And he impressed right off the bat. Auerbach averaged a sterling 191 in his first season in league bowling at AMF Woodlake Lanes in Woodland Hills. Each year thereafter, he’s been adding to his average, which stood at 213 at the end of the 2012-13 “Wednesday Stars’’ league at Woodlake Lanes. And each year, he’s adding to his bowling milestones. In March, he blasted his fourth 300 game at the age of 63 and was exuberant after it was all over. “This is just fun. I was just having fun. This is frickin’ great!” he exclaimed. Eight months earlier, Auerbach registered his first 800 series. With scores of 276, 276 and 266, Auerbach finished with an 818. Rick Auerbach rolled his fourth perfect game this year at the age of 63. “This is just fun. I was just having fun. This is frickin’ great,” he said.

WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME

Rick Auerbach bowls in the same league as Carol Tucker. He’s won over his colleagues with his animated style and diligence.

“[Top bowler] Troy Gibson congratulated me and said, ‘You don’t feel you’ve arrived until you bowl an 8’, ” Auerbach said. Auerbach, a Woodland Hills, CA, resident, has certainly arrived in the world of bowling. He’s not only making a name for himself in the sport, but his animated style and diligence have won over his colleagues. He frequently bowls 15 to 20 games a night for practice – twice a week.

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This dedication seems the norm for Auerbach. “I just want to get better,” he said. “Everyone tells me I can’t bowl so much but I enjoy it. And I do it to stay in shape. You bowl 15 or 20 games, now that’s a workout!” Auerbach’s extreme bowling regimen has certainly drawn notice. Mike Weekley, who bowls in PBA regionals, says of Auerbach, “Not many people are conditioned to bowl that many games – people’s ribs or shoulders can get sore – but Rick is a machine. He can bowl another 15 games. Not many people can bowl that many.” As far as his fellow bowlers are concerned, Auerbach is a throwback. He uses an antiquated rubber ball that seems as if it’s been around forever. “It went out with the Edsel,” said Auerbach two years ago. “I had it in my bag for about 30 years and it wasn’t until five years ago my son [Brett] said, ‘Let’s go and bowl.’ He actually taught me how to bowl.” When Auerbach is on the lanes preparing to bowl, he always takes his time. He seems to really enjoy being in the spotlight. And his fellow bowlers enjoy watching the spectacle of the right-handed Auerbach readying himself to bowl. Said veteran bowler Siena Cawelti, “He has a routine, like a baseball player. He goes to the line and takes a

WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME

Auerbach during his Dodger days.

deep breath to get ready. Then he has a big sigh. He takes about two minutes [before bowling]. It’s almost comical, but it works for him.” And Cawelti adds: “Rick’s just crazy, just insane. He can take things seriously and then he doesn’t. He can make you laugh and he has a million stories. How can you not love him?” Auerbach bowls anchor on his league teams. He revels in the pressure of being needed to roll a strike – or several strikes – in the 10th frame to allow his team to win. “The game is not that hard,” Auerbach said, “but you have to be a robot at the line each time... same speed, same release. Once you get that down, then it’s just reading the oil [on the lanes].” Then there’s the subject of pressure. It’s one of Auerbach’s favorite topics. “What I always tell everyone is that pressure is self-inflicted,” he said. “There’s no such thing as pressure. It’s what you put in your brain.” Of course, Auerbach knows something about pressure, having played before 40,000 and 50,000 fans in the majors. He was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and reached the majors with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971. Auerbach was a part-time starter at shortstop for the Brewers his first year. Then he became their starting shortstop the next year at age 22 when he played 153 games. He batted only .218 that year, but the team batted .235 during the second dead-ball era. Auerbach ranked fourth in the league in games played and ranked seventh in stolen bases with 24. Darrell Porter at 20 was the only younger position player than Auerbach, but Porter appeared in only 18 games, according to 38

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baseballreference.com. That was Auerbach’s only season as a starter. Auerbach came to the Dodgers for the 1974 season and batted .342 his first year with an on-base percentage of .407, albeit in only 73 at-bats. He finished his career with the Reds and Seattle Mariners, batting over .300 with the Reds in two of his three seasons there. Auerbach appeared in one playoff game – that with the Dodgers against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974. The pressure of the playoffs apparently didn’t bother him; he doubled in his one plate appearance. In his 1,407 career at-bats, the right-hand-hitting Auerbach slugged only nine homers, but one of them came against left-hander Vida Blue, the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher and National League’s most valuable player in 1971 as a member of the Oakland A’s. After bowling his 818 series, Auerbach found himself the frequent topic of conversation in bowling circles. No longer was he just recognized as a certified top amateur bowler, but he was being asked whether he should consider bowling in professional tournaments. At that point, Auerbach showed a genuine respect for pro bowling by acknowledging that he benefited from competing at the same local bowling house week after week. He didn’t want to compare himself with the pros. “The house shot is a very easy shot. The pros have to deal with those different patterns. You have to hit one specific board every single time...and have to have the correct release, correct ball speed. Everything has to be lined up almost perfectly.” Auerbach goes on to say, “To compare what I’m doing to the pros is apples and oranges. It’s 10 times easier [away from tournaments]. A lot of people have told me that I’m better than the pros, but they have no idea what [lane conditions] those pros have to bowl on and how difficult they make it.” Pro bowlers have expressed skepticism over Auerbach’s potential to perform at their level. Dick Sanders, the owner and director of the professional West Coast Senior Tour, said he expected Auerbach would encounter difficulties bowling in some of his tournaments. But he indicated Auerbach could be a worthy entrant. “Tournament play shouldn’t bother [Auerbach] because he was a ballplayer,” Sanders said. “And bowling 818 with a rubber ball is an amazing feat.” Most recently, Auerbach has been struggling a bit with his bowling game. Much or all of the blame could be traced to his bowling in a new center – Corbin Bowl in Tarzana, CA, where he said he’s in the process of adjusting to the lanes. After bowling a lackluster 156 game in his second week of a 34week season at Corbin, he was asked what went wrong. “It’s called ‘four splits,’ ’’ said Auerbach, smiling. “I have to find [a groove in] this place. Hopefully, I’ll find it.” Continuing his commentary, Auerbach added: “I hate it. I suck. But it’s early. Talk to me after 99 games, and then we’ll see.” ❖

Fred Eisenhammer is a freelance writer and editor from Agoura Hills, CA. He’s currently working for examiner.com, a national website for which he’s written 600 bowling stories. Fred served as a news editor and copy editor at the Los Angeles Times for 20 years. He’s also co-authored three nonfiction sports books, including his most recent one, College Football’s Most Memorable Games.

PROFILE

By Mark Miller

ike Widmar didn’t become a pro ballplayer like his father and he didn’t turn into a name bowler like his mother. But put the two sports together and you have a big part of the story of how Widmar got where he is today, a bowling center manager with more than 40 years in the game. The 58-year-old Widmar is general manager of Heritage Lanes in Oklahoma City where he's overseen about 30 employees since 2000, after working at three Tulsa-area centers. As someone who spent plenty of his youth roaming around baseball stadiums, Widmar easily could have turned to the diamond. After all, his father, Al, was a player, coach, scout, and executive for more than 50 years. Al was just 17 when he signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1942. Making his big-league debut in 1947, he played with the Red Sox, St. Louis Browns (now Baltimore Orioles) and Chicago White Sox across five seasons. He appeared in 114 games, 42 as a starter and 72 in relief, and compiled a 13-30 record and 5.21 earned-run average in 388 innings. He retired as a player after a stint in the minors that included Seattle and Tulsa, and from the 1960s on, turned his hand to pitching coach and scout (Phillies, Brewers, and Toronto Blue Jays). Leaving the game for good in the mid-’90s, he would give Mike his 1993 ring (size 12) and Mike’s brother, Tom, the 1992 version (size 14). But while Mike Widmar the youngster gave a thought to being a pitcher like his dad, Mike soon realized his better bet was to follow mom Betty. “I really didn’t work hard at baseball,” he said, recalling his younger days. “I played baseball, basketball and football, with football probably what I was best at. I really didn’t practice and Dad didn’t push us. “Sure, he worked with us in summers when we were with him. He’d

Mike shows off his father Al Widmar's 1992 World Series Ring (L) and his 300 ring ( R).

get us out there with a catcher who would give my brother [Tom] and I tips. It was a lot of fun. But the curve ball didn’t work and I didn’t feel like the practice ethic of it, so I decided to do something else.” Bowling was as close as the other side of the dinner table.

Tenpin Time

Betty Widmar picked up her first bowling ball in 1940 at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, PA. “It was the war years and there wasn’t much to do,” she said in the 2005 Women’s International Bowling Congress Tournament Program. “But bowling has always been exciting. “Through the years, my love for the game has provided me with excitement and many friendships. I love bowling in tournaments.” Betty bowled in every WIBC Tournament from 1958 to 2002, when the effects of seven major surgeries and undergoing treatments for cancer and blood clotting in the brain finally slowed her down. She had the nation’s third-highest women’s average (200) in the 1963-64 season, including her only 300 game in 1964. When Mike showed her his ring for his IBI

August 2014

PROFILE first perfect game in 2003, all she could say was, “That’s great but my diamond is for real.” She also loved helping bowling behind the scenes, serving 14 years as Tulsa WBA secretary. Her devotion to local and state bowling netted her induction into the Tulsa and Oklahoma WBA halls of fame. She was rewarded nationally when she rolled the first balls in the 1970 and 2005 WIBC Tournaments in Tulsa. “I grew up around bowling centers,” Mike said. “She took me with her when she bowled five nights a week, sometimes six. She was dragging me to all the centers. “When I finally got to the point of management, I went to proprietors’ meetings. All these proprietors who used to yell at me for running up and down the concourse, now I was sitting across the table talking business with them,” Mike remembered. Mike with photos of his parents.

Strikes and Strike

It was at Claremore, OK, where baseball and bowling came together for Mike Widmar. Al’s baseball money helped finance Betty in buying a center that Mike helped manage. Betty had been working as an accounting clerk at River Lanes in the town of Broken Arrow. When a center in nearby Claremore burned down, Betty and River Lanes owner Brenda Marshall (also a former president of the Tulsa Women’s Bowling Association) went into partnership

Mike with his wife Deb in front of Heritage Lanes. 40

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to build Cedar Lanes there. Mike, who had been pin-chasing at River Lanes, moved with them into the new center. He was also running an independent trophy shop. But he and his wife, Deb, realized it would not be able to support the family they were starting (Brandon, today 30, and Alan, 27), so he accepted an offer to step up and manage the new bowling center. Fifteen years later, he returned to River Lanes to take a similar position. (Betty and Brenda sold their center two years after that.) “I decided to get out from under the family wing after I didn’t see any possibility of buying into the center,” Mike said about his return to River Lanes. “To own a ship would be nice, I guess, but I’ve been used to running them for folks. It’s gone pretty well for me, so why mess up a good thing?” When Andy Bartholomy bought River Lanes and some time later asked Mike to manage his 40-lane house, Heritage Lanes, in Oklahoma City, Widmar accepted. Today, Mike, his wife Deb, and their son Alan carry on Betty’s bowling legacy at Heritage, with attendance at occasional Oklahoma City Redhawks games their main tie to Al’s career. Those visits help Mike stay close to his father, but he still misses the smell of pine tar and rosin that you can only enjoy by being around baseball players. ❖

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CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT FOR SALE NEEDING A NEW VENUE? Nightclub entertainment bowling is HOT. COMPLETE 4, 6, 8, (+) bowling packages with install. Complete 10-lane package just removed and ready to reinstall. Affordable. See tenpinartisans.com for custom ideas or call (970) 946-9933. GOING OUT OF BUSINESS after 43 years! AMF autoscore packages + complete packages. CHEAP + shipping. Call Craig Doren (712) 253-8730. REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE. Powerlifts AMF/Brunswick, AMF-SPL head sections, A2 pinsetters complete or buy for parts, Brunswick 2000 hood/racks, Brunswick Swing and Swivel, AMF Excel scoring, Steltronic automatic scoring w/ flat screens, and reconditioned Gloss Boss. Installations available. (970) 946-9933 or Knotritellc@gmail.com. Get Redline Foul Lights at www.joystickscoring.com or call Werner at (888) 569-7845. Home of Bowlingtrader.com, your FREE buy and sell site.

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August 2014

CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT FOR SALE RETIRING! Selling all scoring parts & exchange units for Accu-Score Plus, XL & BOSS systems. Also, electronic test equipment for all components, plus installation equipment & full set of lane sanding equipment. NEEDS TO GO. Craig Doren (712) 253-8730.

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Don't miss your chance to grow with an Industry Leader! Looking for Experienced, Service-Oriented General Managers for our U.S. bowling retail center locations. Please check us out at www.brunswickcareers.apply2jobs.com for more details on our current openings. Act Now! Apply Today!

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SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. (800) 255-6436 or jayhawkbowling.com. AMF 5850 & 6525 CHASSIS. Exchange your tired or damaged chassis for an upgraded, rewired, cleaned, painted and ready-to-run chassis. Fast turnaround. Lifetime guarantee. References available. CHASSIS DOCTOR (330) 314-8951.

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CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE LARRY DOBBS APPRAISALS. (214) 6748187. Bowlingvaluations@yahoo.com. WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One of the top five places to move! Remodeled 32lane center. Good numbers. $3.1m gets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362. CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!! 8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full-service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, karaoke machine & DJ system. Asking $125,000.00 with RE. (217) 351-5152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net. SOUTHWEST KANSAS: Well-maintained 8lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant. Includes business and real estate. Nice, smaller community. Owner retiring. $212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828. 16-lane center in Southern Colorado mountains. Great condition. 18,000 s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge. Paved parking 100+ vehicles. Established leagues & tournaments. $950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155. OKLAHOMA: 16-lane center w/ large laser tag, only arcade in area and thriving lounge. Steltronics SuperElex w/ 42” flat screens and refurbished A2s. Completely upgraded and remodeled. Owner financing and option to purchase shopping center for viable buyers. Business for sale apart from real estate. (719) 251-1616.

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DATEBOOK

AUGUST 5-6 LaserTAG360 EVENT Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Carolyn Goettsch Creative Works, Inc. 317-834-4770

29 Folds of Honor Bowling Tournament Little River Lane Little River, SC Laurie Romano 804-301-6054

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER 2 BCA of Ohio Executive Board Meeting Crowne Plaza, Dublin Pat Marazzi 937-433-8363

12-14 BPAA Management School Radisson Star Plaza Merrillville, IN 219-769-6311

29 Illinois State BPA BOD Meeting Holiday Inn & Suites, Bloomington Bill Duff, 847-982-1305 billduff@bowlillinois.com

6-8 East Coast Bowling Centers Convention Golden Nugget, Atlantic City www.eastcoastbowl.com

15 Ace Mitchell Tradeshow Carolier Lanes N. Brunswick, NJ 800-262-2695

30 BCA of Florida Annual Town Hall Meeting Villas of Grand Cypress Orlando 407-239-4700

13 Alabama/Mississippi BPA Annual Meeting Robinsonville MS Chris Gallas 817-385-8471

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August 2014

SHOWCASE PIN MARKETING

Here’s a new twist on leaving a business card or flier. Next time, think a bowling pin. Develop a marketing plan around a specialty pin which shows off your center and is a reminder that your center is the go-to place for parties and events. For info on “Leave a Pin, Plan a Party” promotion, contact Dave Sapp, Done-Rite Pins and Capital Equipment at 800-222-2695 or davesapp@donerite.com.

WINE PORTION CONTROL

Alcohol Controls offers PourMark, a portable glass etcher for making permanent portion control marks on wine glasses which eliminates bartenders and servers using their discretion. Overpouring just a ¼” will yield only four glasses of wine per bottle instead of five glasses. If your operation empties five cases of wine per week, PourMark will pay for itself in less than three weeks. Learn more online at AlcoholControls.com or call 800-285-2337.

GET IN SYNC

CHAIRS, BARSTOOLS AND MORE

Whether you are looking for chairs for the bowler’s settee, barstools for the concourse, or stacking chairs for the party rooms, Venue Furniture can provide everything you need. They offer a wide range of steel and wood chairs, barstools, counter stools, stacking chairs and swivel barstools and counter barstools. Further, they can customize any look at an affordable price. Contact the sales office at 855-558-3683 or visit www.bowlingfurniture.com.

RED PIT BELT

QubicaAMF’s Performance Red Pit Belt is in stock and ready to ship! With 25% thicker plies than other PVC belts, a softer surface for faster pin movement and fewer pin jams, less cleaning and less oil transfer---it’s time to give it a try. Plus, it’s guaranteed for two years. Call 866-460-7263, option 2 to order Part # 000026753RED today.

BOWLING PARTY KITS

Sync™ is Brunswick’s revolutionary new scoring and management system, coming in 2015. Sync is all-new to its core. Built from the ground up with the fastest and smartest performance and featuring management tools, a sophisticated marketing feature and an enhanced bowler experience, Sync aligns what happens on the lanes with what goes on behind the front desk and in the back office. It is one streamlined, easy-to-use system. Make way for Sync. Info at www.brunswickbowling.com/the-one.

Bowling is always fun!! Product Specialties, Inc. has created four distinct and fun party themes for older kids. Each party kit comes in two sizes, 250 or 500, including plates, cups, napkins, invitations, balloons and plastic forks. Also available are plastic, bowling-themed table covers which come in rolls to conveniently fit any size table. Food–safe and certified, Product Specialties always goes the extra mile for your safety. “Without us, a party is just lunch!” Call TOLL-FREE to place your order: 800-442-0552.

SPECIAL LIGHTING EFFECTS

SCORING REPAIRS & UPGRADES

Put a spotlight on your promotional events. NLFX Professional offers its Ikon LED, a high–output, single–Gobo projector powered by a bright, 60w, white LED. Brightness and Gobo rotation can be adjusted on the rear of the fixture or by a wireless RF remote control. Ideal for private parties. This and other lighting needs can be found at www.NLFXPro.com/Bowling or call 888-660-6696.

New Center Consulting, Inc.’s Touch Desk III and Touch Score 3 received a big response and many new customers at Bowl Expo due to its increased capabilities, new features, affordable options, and expanded tech support. The goal is scoring repairs and upgrades in “piecemeal” fashion to save expense and offer additional support. The lowest-cost path to new scoring. The new Tech Support hotline is 239-244-9464; new Tech Support email is Help@TouchScoreSupport.com. Additional info can be found at 248-375-2751. IBI

August 2014

REMEMBER WHEN

1951

... THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES 50

IBI

August 2014

lay. It is a word that conjures the best of images. The Coca-Cola Company thought so in 1951. • “Bring Coke into play” • “Play Refreshed” • “Play calls for a pause” From these ad phrases, we know what to drink when playing, and we also know what to play. Bowling and Coke are the best in combination. In 1951, there were 1,679 BPAA centers, 31,607 YABA bowlers, 542,723 WIBC members, and 1,430,000 ABC members. What better segment to offer an ice-cold Coca-Cola! Bowling played well with others. ❖