IBI November 2010 by International Bowling Industry Magazine

CONTENTS

VOL 18.11

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

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott Frager

6 THE ISSUE AT HAND

24 COVER STORY

How do you value a friend?

The sage of Southfield A chat with Sandy Hansell about his 25 years as prognosticator and pundit.

By Scott Frager

By Fred Groh

MANAGING EDITOR Fred Groh groh@bowlingindustry.com

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Gregory Keer keer@bowlingindustry.com

OFFICE MANAGER Patty Heath

8 SHORTS Conventions East and West...Fred Borden update... women at the museum.

frager@bowlingindustry.com Skype: scottfrager

heath@bowlingindustry.com

32 OPERATIONS

SPECIAL PROJECTS Jackie Fisher fisher@bowlingindustry.com

Special edition Meeting rooms aren’t done by halves at Irvine Lanes.

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION Designworks www.dzynwrx.com (818) 735-9424

FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)

11 CENTER STAGE

34 PROFILE

Grand indeed is Inazawa Grand Bowl, the biggest center in the world.

14 THIS IS BVL

The charm of bowling After five years out of the industry, real estate developer Jim Hooberman returns – by buying a center in Michigan.

Songs my fathers taught me

46 REMEMBER WHEN

Young singer/ dancers are also touched by the mission of the Bowlers to Veterans Link.

1948-49 A season in which bowling hit dramatic highs.

37 Showcase 38 Datebook 38 Classifieds

18 OPERATIONS Taking the rap for a rep Three guys who knew their new center had an unsavory reputation, and why they bought it anyway.

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13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501 Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 (818) 789-2695(BOWL) Fax (818) 789-2812 info@bowlingindustry.com

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, 13245 Riverside Drive, Suite 501, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 USA. If possible, please furnish address mailing label. Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2010, B2B Media, Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the publisher’s permission.

MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:

THE ISSUE AT HAND

How do you value a friend? For more than 16 years, Sandy Hansell’s name, ideas and commentary have been as much a part of IBI as our masthead. Month after month, year after year, Sandy’s perspective and commentary about bowling and the business have been a much-read staple. Hansell has a special place in the industry’s collective heart and soul. I’ve seen Sandy present at many a trade show and conference. I’ve read his profile and quotes in many a national magazine and newspaper. He’s always putting bowling’s best foot forward. And while a private practitioner in business, he is also very much in the public eye. Sandy recently accepted a position on the newly created board of the SMART Bowling Scholarship Funding Corp., an entity legally and financially separate from USBC that is managing $33 million in scholarship funds currently in the SMART program. Many proprietors exhaled a sigh of relief at the news of his appointment. Sandy is a guy you want on your side. Why? Not because of who he knows or even what he knows, but because of the kind of man he is. In this month’s cover story, I think you’ll learn a lot more about the other side of Sandy Hansell. You’ll come away even more impressed than you may be now. For years, we have wanted to feature Sandy on our cover. But since he was a columnist for the magazine, it was a tad tricky. Only after his retirement from the column and a record 177 consecutive months of “The Inside Track” did we feel we were able to give Sandy his due. Sandy always gave us the freedom to edit his column, not that it ever needed it much. He was always very sensitive about how his words would be received by the industry. He wanted to be free to speak his mind, even if some could have perceived it as being negative. Most of all, the one thing I always respected Sandy for was that he never used his column as a self-serving promotional tool. Over the years, Sandy and his team of brokers have helped hundreds of proprietors and prospective proprietors valuate, buy and sell bowling centers. And he’s managed to succeed with a special grace, confidence and humility that is truly rare in today’s age. As hard as it is to appraise a bowling business, I can say it’s impossible to really put a value on a good friend like Sandy Hansell. Thank you, Sandy, for devoting your career to bowling and your friendship to IBI. – SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR frager@bowlingindustry.com

THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com

Holiday promotions...open letters to industry powers-that-be...operational best-practices... Join the discussion. Or start your own. Either way, it’s a snap. And it’s free.

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November 2010

SHORTS Thirteen new vendors and a bellringing seminar agenda highlighted the West Coast Bowling Convention, Oct. 3-5, show director Sandi Thompson reported. Harrah’s Harveys at Lake Tahoe was the setting for the event for the second year running. Seminars covered smart use of Facebook, presented by Carey Tosello; customer and business safety from crime, by police officer and investigator Walt Aldred; selling parties, by Pam Weatherford of TrainerTainment; and an interactive keynote presentation by Craig Elkins on being a better “people person.” Among names attending from BPAA national were E.D. Steve Johnson and vice president for marketing and research Henry Lewczyk. The standup comedy of Vic Dunlop and the magician -mind-reading mystery of Bornstein Experiment from Southern California rounded out the closing banquet for the convention. IBI has been the official magazine of the show since 1996.

WRAPPING UP

BORDEN PATENT

IS NULLIFIED The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued a formal notice that it is canceling all 15 claims on which Fred Borden, Jimmy Mansfield and Jeri Edwards were issued a patent on glow bowling in 1998. The cancellation, received by BPPA’s general counsel on Oct. 1, nullifies the patent. The notice cites the failure of Borden, Manfield and Edwards to respond to a temporary suspension in June of their claims. The suspension was the outcome of a reexamination of the patent requested by the general counsel, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP of Milwaukee, WI. In last month’s cover story, Borden told IBI that he had decided as of August “to just put it [the patent] to sleep” rather than pursue patent infringement actions against proprietors. He settled with Brunswick and QubicaAMF in lawsuits of 2005 and 2007, respectively.

PEZZANO

APPLICANTS’ A L E R T

In a seminar on selling parties, TrainerTainment’s Pam Weatherford had lots of good advice. In the trade show, Tom Cristi from the Southern California proprietor contingent hobnobbed with Frank Gatten, Western rep for Switch Bowling & Billiards LLC, while QubicaAMF’s Reed Freeman, Bob Lehman and Joe Roussin paused for a photo op at their booth. 8

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Scholarships up to $1,500 may be won by young writers in this year’s Chuck Pezzano Scholarship from the Bowling Writers of America. Eligible applicants must maintain a minimum 2.5 out of 4.0 GPA or equivalent; be involved in the field of communications; perform community service; participate in the sport of bowling; include at least one reference letter with application; write a 350-word essay; and provide school transcript. Applications, downloadable at www. BowlingWriters.com, must be postmarked not later than June 1, 2011. Winners will be announced at Bowl Expo. The scholarship is named for esteemed bowling writer and IBI contributor Chuck Pezzano.

SHORTS

WRAPPING UP

“Strike it rich,” proprietors in 17 Eastern states were told in the theme of the East Coast Bowling Centers Convention, Oct. 11-13 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, and they did. Show organizers were pleased, too, with attendance up seven registrations and booths up 30,

according to show chair Jack Moran. A first-timers’ reception segued into the traditional Welcome Reception on the first evening, while the concluding reception and dinner were the setting for a special farewell celebration for BPAA past-president Jim Sturm, who stepped down at Expo. Education seminars, bracing a two-day trade show, included the future of the youth game (BPAA’s Chad Murply), risk management (North Pointe Insurance), and the long-run for bowling business (Joe Schumacker). For the 14th year, IBI was the official magazine of the convention. Show chair Jack Moran (right) presents a thank-you to QubicaAMF’s Jay Buhl for sponsoring the keynoter on the second day of the show. Anne Obarski talked about conversation and customer service. Bob Reid, Ebonite’s Vice President/Marketing (left), accepts the Landgraf Award of Excellence for former Ebonite president Bill Scheid. Honoring Scheid for elevating the sport of bowling, the award was given by the Metropolitan Bowling Writers and is presented by veteran scribe and IBI contributor Chuck Pezzano (right). The writers held their annual meeting, organized by president Dan McDonough, in conjunction with the convention.

Jody Urquhart’s keynote presentation on having fun in the workplace was...well, a lot of fun. Show chair Jack Moran was still enjoying it when he congratulated her afterwards. 10

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Women’s Turn at Bowling Museum Top women bowlers of the past 50 years will have their permanent niche at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame come Bowl Expo next year. Bowling writer Jim Goodwin is chairing a committee to develop the contents of the exhibit and to raise money to build it. Committee members include former LPBT and PWBA Tour Director and Historian Fran Deken, PWBA owner John Sommer, and public relations specialist Joan Romeo.

CREDIT THE MAN How much of Tom Shannon’s major new venue in New York’s Times Square is being financed by his American Express Plum Card, we don’t know. Bowlmor Times Square will cost

During the trade show, attendees gathered ‘round Bruce Davis, principal of the Kids Bowl Free program, for a detailed look at how the promotion works. ‘3,913,102’ on the banner is the number of kids who have so far signed up with the program. Later, Davis gave a seminar presentation on improving business in the tough economy.

millions, after all. But the principle is plain in this ad from the credit card company: cardholders get longer payment periods or an early-pay discount. And it’s also clear that bowling got some nice light in this full-page ad we found in The Wall Street Journal recently.

Main entry. A major mall is next door.

CENTER STAGE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BOWLING CENTER...

The reception counter

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CENTER STAGE

That’s official. “World’s biggest” is the Guinness citation for Inazawa Grand Bowl in Inazawa City, Japan – 116 lanes in line. It reopened in the spring after major renovation by Grand Bowl Co., Ltd., operator of 15 centers in Japan. QubicaAMF supplied the scoring, Brunswick the lanes. Inazawa used to be even bigger. When it opened March 24,1972, it took up two floors. Each floor had 116 lanes. ❖

The members-only lounge adjoining the locker room.

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CENTER STAGE

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With this issue we begin a series on the Bowlers to Veterans Link, bowling’s arm for supporting America’s men and women in combat and combat support, in and out of uniform. We will be writing about what BVL is doing, for whom, and the impact it has. We don’t think it’s necessary to explain why its work is important. We can’t think of a more fitting month for launching this series than November.

SONGS MY FATHERS TAUGHT ME Bowlers to Veterans Link reaches further than vets.

Jennifer Lutz and one of the pictures.

his is where it pays off: on a stage 14 feet wide by 10 feet deep, minimum, with a backdrop and space behind it for costume changes. It is in a dining room or an auditorium or lobby. Half the time, the performers are appearing at state fairs and the like – they perform this season for a USBC local in Nevada – for money. It goes into the 14

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other half of their time, shows they put on without charge at Veterans Administration medical centers and state veterans’ homes in all 50 states. “I have changed in a lot of ways,” says Jennifer Lutz, 20, member of the all-singing, all-dancing, all-energy troupe of collegeage performers called Re-Creation. “More appreciative of life. Realize how privileged I am, how blessed I am not to have...you know, have all my limbs, be emotionally stable. It’s crazy the amount of things that people have had to go through for the freedom of our country. These emotions are running through you as you are singing.” Lutz joined in 2008, just out of high school. A former member of the troupe thought she was good material, and Lutz duly went off and auditioned. Raw recruits start with six weeks at a training camp near Harrisburg, PA, where Jay Muller, a member of the troupe about 25 years ago, presides. As president of ReCreation, he also picks the 8-10 singer/ dancers and two technicians, selects the tours, writes, choreographs and directs the shows. He’s been known to perform occasionally as well. “A lot of kids will say they want to sing,” Muller remarks. “What you really need, though, is a kid who’s willing to understand what the mission is, because a lot of them have not been in a long-term care facility before they do this, and that’s always interesting, always interesting to see the impact on them. Plus, they have to leave school, leave their families. So we’re looking for [the] kind of person who not only has the talent but has the heart for the people in these places. It’s not an easy thing to do to prepare yourself emotionally every day to

be in a nursing home-type situation.” The training camp isn’t boot camp, but it is serious. The kids will have to adapt to a wide range of performing conditions and they will always have to look and sound absolutely professional. “They’ll be in here like at 8 in the morning,” Muller relates. “They’ll have three hours of voice, then a lunch break, then two more hours of voice, then they’ll have costume fittings, then have dance, then they’ll go to bed about 10. But sometimes you train all day and go do a show at night.” On the road, they do almost everything themselves – take turns driving, unload the stage equipment and set it up, repack everything after the show. They learn new material to fit particular venues when they pull in for the night or have spare minutes during the day and maybe a piano one of them can use to plunk the tune. They’re constantly in training, Muller reports. They ply the roads in two 15passenger vans and a 24-foot trailer. They usually stay in hotels paid for by the Elks, another underwriter, but sometimes in local private homes. Around 10 in the morning on most performing days, they arrive at “the VA,” set up, get into costume, and go on wards to invite the vets to the show. Some are reluctant. Few say no, in the end. “All the girls put on a smile and flirt a little bit and say if you come, we’ll dance with you,” says Lutz. Which the girls indeed will do after the show. It goes on at 2, an hour or so of music, song, dance, and lighting effects that would be familiar to anybody who has ever run a glow bowling event. As to the music, whadda you want? From Gershwin and the 1920s to Sister Sledge and the ’00s (all burnished by resident arranger Dave Kazee), you got it. Visiting afterward with the vets, Lutz says, is tied with the performing itself as the most rewarding part of a tour stop for her.

Jennifer performing a Sister Sledge song in Milwaukee this summer.

“The reactions that the men and women have during the shows are amazing. I remember one VA where a guy literally stood up and started dancing, in the middle of the audience, just dancing around. The staff told us after the show that this veteran was very calm, kept to himself, didn’t really talk to people. We brought that out of him. But also, after the show, we get to hear their stories, heroes that we just got the privilege to perform for – that’s amazing.” The troupe goes campaigning armed with pictures of themselves in costume. The pictures were provided by BVL. Not infrequently they turn hesitant theatergoers in the right direction. “Hey I’m coming if there’s this many pretty girls!” “That’s a huge way that BVL helps – those pictures,” Lutz says. “After the show we go and visit with the veterans and thank them more and say how much we appreciate them and sign the pictures.

Fairlanes Grandville, MI (44 lanes) We congratulate Jim Hooberman on his purchase of this fine center and thank Community Bowling Centers for trusting us to handle the sale. We wish Jim and Community Bowling all the best in the future.

Bowling’s Only Full-Service Brokers, Appraisers & Financial Advisors 28200 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076

(800) 222 • 9131 Check out our current listings at www.SandyHansell.com.

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Closing number re-enacts famous Joe Rosenthal photo of flag-raising on Iwo Jima.

“Sometimes, if we made a special connection with a veteran, [we] sign the picture with their name. Sometimes if you’re just remembering their name it means so much to them. Some just don’t feel loved or appreciated at all. That human connection helps them so much.” Then the kids pack and leave – although not before the last girl or guy has finished talking with the last vet who wants to talk. “There’s no set time,” says Lutz. “You try to get to all veterans and at least say hi and ‘thank you for your service.’ But there will be times when nine of us have changed and are packing up and there’s still one girl out there talking to a veteran. We’re there for them, so [nobody’s] mad. I’ve had half-an-hour conversation with someone and the group was completely packed up except for me changing.” Re-Creation was founded in 1976 by Penn State University professor Hugh Brooks. It sang as part of the national veterans program of the USO until 1983, when USO discontinued the program. Brooks wanted to retire, but pitched Muller, a friend after Muller’s two years with the group, on taking over the troupe and picking up where USO was leaving off. Muller agreed. BVL became a partner the same year – Re-Creation’s longest-running sponsor.

The group gives about 300 performances a year, including 150 shows at veterans’ facilities. Muller says he gets requests from more than 220 in a year, but that number isn’t financially possible. Re-Creation pays its own way except for the underwriting by BVL, the Elks, Help Hospitalized Veterans, and The Veterans Fund, all private non-profits. And Re-Creation doesn’t pay the kids. They are full-time volunteers who live together 24/7 and get four days off at Thanksgiving, 10 at Christmas and about a week between the year-long seasons. Like Lutz, who retired in August, most of the performers stay two years and return to school. After de-compressing, she wants to attend Loyola or Notre Dame to major in managing non-profits. She’s also auditioning for Disney World and other performance venues. “I remember seeing veterans smiling or singing along. And especially at our patriotic closer. A lot of veterans sang along to ‘God Bless America’ and a lot of them were crying. I remember seeing them crying and I started crying. You don’t realize the impact you’re making until you see it first-hand. There is so much work and practice that goes into Re-Creation, the months and months. We do two months of full practicing; we don’t perform or anything. You put in so much work; it is so exhausting and you wonder why you signed up for this. I mean, it’s fun but exhausting and then the first show and you see the veterans and you see why all that was worthwhile. All the work and late nights [were] so worth it, because you’re really changing lives.” ❖

OPERATIONS

Taking the rap for a rep They knew the center had an unsavory reputation when they bought it. Sign of new times.

hings can go terribly wrong at a bowling center and not necessarily through any fault of the owner’s. Suppose you buy a center several hundred miles from your home. You’re going to move into the new town and be a hands-on owner, but then the economy goes into a tailspin and you can’t sell the house you’re living in. It’s impossible to drive back and forth twice those several hundred miles to be at the center every day. You need somebody to run the place for you. You hire, after doing your due diligence, new management. They turn out not to be the best hires ever, to say the least. They don’t keep the place up, and one day they run off with the league prize funds. It’s not your fault, but your place suddenly has a bad rep anyway. Very bad. Overcoming a reputation when the customers know you is one thing, but why would anybody choose to walk into such a situation? Why would anyone buy a center like this, knowing its rep? And how would he turn the public’s thinking around? ❖❖❖

“I think what is helping us overcome the bad memories people have is a few things,” says Dave Backstrom. With partners Jeff Warren and Bill Slusarczyk, he bought an Indiana center they have re-named Lakeshore Lanes. The name change was one part of their strategy for rehabilitating the business. “People loved the place in the past. People have a lot of good memories before the collapse,” Backstrom says, “so we had a lot of loyal people come in to give us a chance.” Warren and Slusarczyk have owned and operated another center, 40 minutes away and in Illinois, for six years. Slusarczyk it was who spotted the vacant center, passing it several times as he drove through town. 18

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Were they nuts? “As far as discussion of the center, as we got into it more, we discovered the past issues,” Slusarczyk says. “I did not know,” Warren says about the reputation of the center at the start of the closing process, but “as we got more into [it], we were finding out what happened.” The partners could have walked away. “We took it on as a challenge,” says Warren, at first feeling “kind of shocked, kind of nervous, thinking ‘What did I get myself into here?’ But I didn’t get too crazy about it. I figured I already had a successful center and I know what I’m going to do to get it straight. The second reason [they didn’t walk] is that the property taxes out there are a lot cheaper than Illinois, so it enabled [us] to make more improvements without having to worry about paying a big property tax bill.” “Bowling centers are something I’ve done all my life,” says Slusarczyk. “It seemed a good town, worthy of getting [the center] re-opened. Expense much lower than in Illinois; huge benefits to a center like that,” he adds, referring to the

OPERATIONS property taxes. “I felt there was value here,” Backstrom says. “It’s a nice little place. It was just sad to see this place go down. [It’s been] here for 50 years. It’s been the place in town.” And the three partners were heavily experienced. Warren was a pinsetter mechanic for 10 years, who also knows HVAC and finance. Backstrom owned a pro shop for five years and knows finance, too. Slusarczyk, a pinsetter man, is “a genius” with A-2s, according to Backstrom. The three men split the operational responsibilities, with Backstrom stationed at the new center. ❖❖❖

painted them and put on new A2 decals. They did the same with the rakeboards. Slusarczyk and Warren did all the work themselves. Old bowling pins out, spanking new pins in. “Unusable” lanes began running as good as new, Backstrom states. They bought the center in October 2009. Lakeshore Lanes opened for new business that December 20. The partners decided they would work the new center as much as they could during the first year, to save as much on payroll as possible, and build up staff once fall leagues (2010) started. The three are not all at Lakeshore on most days, but two of them usually are.

The first thing Warren wanted to do was get the word out that the center was open again. It had been shuttered for ❖❖❖ about seven months, spring to fall 2009. Four leagues had been robbed of around $25,000. This had “I dealt with Kevin Malick,” he recollects. “He does my not made them happy. center here [Illinois]. That’s the first thing we did. We hammered “We put out a huge promotion,” Warren reports. “Radio ads, probably 140 merchants in the area and got the buzz going that the open bowl promotion [Malick]. The leagues already went we were open. Within a matter of two weeks, we had the center out to another center. We got in contact with the people filled with open bowl. Weekends were packed. We had 24 lanes [league bowlers] that left their phone numbers and asked solid with a waiting list.” them to come down and talk with us, and let them see we are The tally is about 300 open players a week. Quite an legitimate people.” improvement. An inspection of the computer archive revealed Of course great customer service would be essential to that the center was lucky if it rang up four games of open winning them back, and the partners had the business play a day. philosophy that would deliver it, as it has for many a proprietor. They turned to the physical plant. “We have done a lot of “To me,” Backstrom says, speaking for the three, “this is the small, ‘facelift’ things such as paint, new trim, replaced some customers’ place. We’re just here to show them a good time.” windows, a new road sign, as well as a sign on building,’” But treating customers well from now on doesn’t necessarily Backstrom says about the summer’s occupation in 2009, make amends for the past. The Friday night league had been before they re-opened. They replaced some doors and ceiling tiles and upgraded the restrooms with new tile, stall doors, toilets, vanities, and hand dryers. Thirty thousand dollars went into an electrical upgrade for the building. When the utility finally shut off the power because the bills weren’t being paid, the bad hires ran power in from generators in the back of the center, destroying the electrical panels there. In the kitchen, the three partners purchased a new flat grill, char grill, fryer and freezer. Potholes in the parking lot (numerous) were patched, and the surface was sealcoated and re-striped. They bought a new Kegel Kustodian lane machine. On the A2s, they replaced old deck shields, bent and broken, re- Bill Slusarczyk, the pinsetter “g”-man; Dave Backstrom, who handled the ire; and Jeff Warren, who had the right impulse. 20

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OPERATIONS hardest hit – in the range of $12- to $15,000. Other leagues had been stiffed around $5,000. If the league had been burned once, why shouldn’t it be twice shy? Warren says he would be nonplussed if the question were put to him point blank, but his impulse sounds right. “All you can do is apologize to them, even though you had nothing to do with it. Try to calm them. Ask them, ‘How come you didn’t go to the USBC and try to get your money back? Was your league bonded? Was your league insured?’ “I don’t want to make them feel like they’re idiots because they got ripped off, but I try to talk to them in a manner of helping them understand that what happened should not have happened and what they can do to prevent it. When it comes down to talking to people you’ve got to respect them. Once you talk to someone in that manner, things seem to calm down and they start talking to you on a normal level.” ❖❖❖

Re-opening in December 2009, the house was halfway through the season. Backstrom put a couple of short-season leagues on the floor, “just to get the people in the place.” Summer 2010 was a season of suspense. Four summer leagues were floored, “which I don’t think is too bad for our first summer here,” he adds. But the test, the three partners figured, would come this fall (2010). When they met with the leagues before they were floored, “we gave our little pitch – ‘give us a chance’,” Backstrom relates. The house having been beloved by its league players before the bad management came in, bowlers were not hesitant about stopping by to see what the new owners were up to. Warren says that by talking to bowlers individually, the partners “put a little bit of a calm in a lot of people. ‘Hey, these guys are really in the bowling business.’ They could tell right away, just by talking with us.” They had two other little pieces of luck going their way. The center you bowl at in the town is “almost a Cubs-and-WhiteSocks thing,” according to Backstrom. You bowl at Lakeshore or at the other house, not at both. “So when people heard we were coming back, the loyal people who used to bowl here said, ‘Let’s get back over there.’” And one of their mechanics was a bowler in the Friday night league. “He kind of rah-rahed us. He knew a lot of people in the league so he was kind of our link. He really pitched it. Knew everybody in the town. He really talked us up

[

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and took the lead in getting that league back together.” As summer turned into fall, six leagues took the floor at Lakeshore Lanes. A year and a half before – under old ownership but before the bad management – the house had hosted about 11 leagues a season. So Backstrom judges Lakeshore’s performance, again, “not too bad for our first year.” In particular, the Friday night league returned with 10 teams compared to a recent past of about a dozen. “Ten,” says Backstrom, “is a huge percentage of what they were.” ❖❖❖

It’s too early to say Lakeshore Lanes is back on an even keel, according to Backstrom. “I’m feeling we’re doing a little better than I thought we would be at this point. When we started putting the Friday night men’s league together, we were hearing ‘Six teams are going to come over here and give you a chance.’ So to get 10 out of it, I’m real happy with that. “A lot of teams were just skeptical. And what seems to me is they want to give it a year. They want to make sure we’re okay. They want to get feedback from the guys.” But the signs are good. The first week of league, a lot of the bowlers went to the bar to hang out afterward and three or four teams from the competitor center in town came over to join them. “That was really cool,” says Backstrom. The partners seem to know the right formula. Backstrom by mutual agreement with Slusarczk and Warren has been handling most of the customer relations problem. He pulled up in front of the shuttered building one day and saw a man looking at a notice on the wall announcing the imminent return of bowling. The man turned out to be the president of the Friday night league. “At the beginning of the conversation, he had a very upset tone, to say the least,” says Backstrom. “I could have been rude right back at him, but I sat down and had a long conversation with him. At the end he was a really nice guy. He [understood] our situation. We’re new people. We had nothing to do with what happened, and he realized we’re going to do the right thing and treat people right. “He said, ‘I can’t promise you I’m going to bring the league back here. I’m going to come in and have a few beers and see what you guys are doing, and I’ll give you guys a chance.’” ❖

THE NEW HIRES HAD LET THE CENTER FALL APART. AND THEN THEY HAD RUN OFF WITH $25,000 IN LEAGUE PRIZE MONEY.

]

What’s the best way to win back customers? Share your insights on www.BowlingIndustry.com.

COVER STORY

The

Southfield BY FRED GROH

Want to be an industry pundit? A chat with

Sandy Hansell about how he has done it for

more than 25 years. 24

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November 2010

andy Hansell went to Harvard law school. That was a mistake. The whole episode was – Harvard 1958 to 1961, then four years with a Wall Street firm in bankruptcy law and general corporate work. “Kind of boring,” the bowling industry observer and veteran center broker says, “but I did it.” His life was flowing in a different direction, swift and clear, before all that, and there wasn’t a bowling ball in sight. ■■■

Salem, OH was a great place to grow up 60 years ago, he says. “It was safe, of course. Everybody [knew] everybody. There was a good, positive feeling in town.” The population was around 12,000 then, and hasn’t changed very much. The man as well as the town can bring Norman Rockwell to mind – at a very fast glance and at some considerable distance – but when he graduated from the high school in Salem, Hansell had no bamboo fishing pole to chuck out. He had already become, at 16 or 17, the sports editor for The Salem News, circulation 15,000, published six days a week. He would go in about 7 in the morning, edit the headlines and make up the paper’s one or two pages of sports. He’d return at 4 o’clock after school and write a few stories, usually about the local teams. He put a Salem News license plate frame on his car, “not that it meant anything.” Not at the time, but could it have made the difference when he drove to Cleveland to be interviewed for admission to Williams College? The director of admissions saw the license plate and a lot of the interview focused on Hansell’s work at The News. “If I hadn’t had the license plate, that probably wouldn’t have happened.

COVER STORY

Cover and story photography by Betts Photo Industries. IBI

November 2010

COVER STORY My grades weren’t all that good, considering this was a highly selective college.” At the Williamsburg, MA school, he went to work on the college newspaper and became its editor in his senior year. Summers, he returned to Ohio and moved around from town to town for the Youngstown Vindicator. The paper reported the news in a half-dozen towns surrounding the steel city, and Hansell’s job was to fill in for the bureau chief on vacation in each of those towns. It might be two weeks in Warren, OH followed by two weeks in Sharon, PA or Niles, OH. These many years later, Hansell is not positive but he thinks the man was a Williams alumnus. He definitely was a senior editor for Time-Life. Apparently he got hold of the college paper, saw Hansell’s work and liked it. And so, approaching the end of his undergraduate years, Hansell had a spot waiting for him in the editor’s training program for Life, pioneer in photojournalism and one of the very top national magazines of the day. Or should he go to law school instead? His mother wanted that. “I think it was the prestige of being a lawyer,” he says. “She was an immigrant, first generation, and like many immigrants my father and mother wanted to make sure their children were ‘established.’ I think she felt as a lawyer, you have a certain status.” It was a hard decision, he says. He started Harvard law school and stopped writing. He says it was the wrong decision. ■■■

Hansell recalls more about the Time-Life editor than he does about meeting John L. Brown. Which is ironic, since Brown was the principal of Great Lakes Bowling Corp., owner of 11 bowling centers in metro Detroit and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The prospect of joining Brown in business brought Hansell into bowling. “Someday you’ll be president,” Brown told him in effect, and it certainly seemed

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plausible. The young lawyer didn’t like living in New York anyway. It was a chance to get back to the Midwest. He “took the plunge.” As it happened, circumstances changed in Brown’s family, which changed the prospects for Hansell, and the company fell short of his expectations, “but I did learn a lot about the bowling business.” That included one very memorable occasion. “After about a month there, he wanted me to take over as manager of a 56-lane bowling center. I had no idea what to do. He said, ‘Well, I’ll give you your first clue. The ladies’ room is dirty.’ I said, ‘How important is [that]?’ ‘It’s [expletive deleted] important!’ That made a big impression.” Great Lakes Bowling Corp. was four years of learning for Sandy Hansell. That impressed Roger Robinson. Robinson and a partner owned one bowling center in the Detroit area but wanted to own more. Hansell proved to be the man of

COVER STORY The shingle read “Sandy Hansell and Associates.” That was Jan. 1, 1979. ■■■

He became the frequent flyer, Hansell says. On the road two or three days a week for “probably 20” years. He covered the entire country, personally visiting centers from coast to coast and tasting the business around the country, “not in every state,” he corrects, “but in many.” He put up his banner and manned the booth at industry conventions, too. He was a regular at the East Coast show, got to as many Midwestern states as he could, and even did the West Coast show a couple of times. Writing, where his future once seemed to lie, appeared a thing of the past. Then, two years after he opened his brokerage, he was contacted by the editor of Bowling Proprietor, a BPAA magazine. Would Hansell be interested in writing a regular column? He could draw on his law background and his experience running bowling centers. He could write about the business and financial aspects of operating a bowling center – financial planning, tax planning, estate tax law, keeping the right books, that sort of thing. Interested? He was, and it was “fun” for more than ten years, Hansell says. “Hansell Financial Report” debuted in November 1981 with his reflections on the tax act of that year. It ended – titled

the hour, and the three men proceeded to tuck four more centers into the portfolio over the next five or six years, all of them around Detroit. “I was the operations guy,” Hansell explains. “He [Robinson] did the office work, and I was out in the centers every day. I hired and fired and did the promotions. There were managers; they all reported to me.” ■■■

After ten years working together, they came to a parting of their ways. Not unusual and not acrimonious, but Hansell was out of a job for the moment. He looked in the mirror. “‘Now, what am I going to do? Forty years old, have some kids to feed, have a law background, 15 years operating bowling centers...’ “There were some chains just emerging in the industry at that time and they were beginning to look around for acquisitions. There were also quite a few proprietors who had been in the business for 20 years or more and were getting ready to retire. “What the world needs,” he announced to his mirror, “is a broker of bowling centers. “There wasn’t any animal like that around. So I hung out a shingle and went to work.” IBI

November 2010

COVER STORY “Hansell Report” in its last two years – in April 1995. The same month, his byline appeared for the first time on a new column, “The Inside Track,” in a new publication, International Bowling Industry. “I think,” he says of IBI founder Allen Crown, “he wanted a column that would look at the industry from a broader perspective than the stuff I was writing for BP. He wanted to talk about industry trends and developments, something no one was writing at the time, and something different than what had been done before. All the columns that had been around were much more detailed and operationally oriented.” The column in BP had spread out as Hansell went along. In the last few

installments, he was writing about changing demographics, home entertainment as new competition for bowling, and the smoking issue. But Crown wanted an even wider view of the business side of bowling. Hansell was flattered by the offer. He also figured it would be good exposure for his brokerage business, although Hansell made it an absolute rule that he would not promote his business in his column. Mostly, perhaps, “I thought it would be fun because it would give me a chance to pontificate.” Which he proceeded to do in 177 consecutive issues of IBI. ■■■

His method as a columnist never changed. “When I got within a week of the deadline, I’d say, ‘Geez, I’ve got to do something.’ Like every other columnist.” He’d look around for an idea and often find something in one of his daily reads: The New York Times (every day), The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Inc., or Fortune. “I tried to look for new ways to approach traditional problems, and maybe some insights that wouldn’t be obvious from inside the bowling center.” He’d start with an interesting idea and ask himself how it would apply to bowling. Other times, he’d just be out walking or running an errand and spot something he thought bowling business people might find intriguing. At its maturity the IBI column had three themes, although not necessarily in this order, says Hansell: keep the restrooms clean; be willing to change your operation as conditions warrant; “stay close to your customers – listen to them, satisfy them.” That last was by way of Salem, OH, where his father and mother ran a small ladies’ clothing store. It was defining experience in 1,200 square feet of retail space. “As a kid I worked there. I made First and last columns for BP.

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COVER STORY boxes and ran errands and swept the floor, but what I learned watching them was: they personified what we have come to call today customer service. “They wouldn’t have understood that term, but for them nothing was more important. If they had to work late one night and alter a dress and deliver it at 11 o’clock at night because the woman had to wear it first thing the next morning, that’s just what they did. When my mother would go on buying trips to New York City she would spend hours looking for one dress for one customer, trooping up and down the garment district. “That lesson stuck with me: that damn it, whatever it took, you satisfy that customer that day!” His first “Inside Track” was prompted by talk that a major company was about to appear with bundles of money for bowling. It never happened, but in that premiere column Hansell addressed people who were spending too much time and effort looking at the horizon instead of their own businesses. “I quoted Pogo: ‘We have met the enemy and he is us.’ The theme of the first column was ‘Get down to work, Mr. Proprietor. We can’t rely on anyone else to come solve our problems. Roll up your sleeves and deal with your problems.’ It was like a pep talk to the industry.” He never swerved from that part of his mission. “Cheerleading for the industry,” he usually calls it. “I always tried to be upbeat and encouraging and spread good news. We’re all in this together. We all rise or fall together. And [I] tried to build the feeling that you may have one center but you’re part of a bigger picture.”

He wrote about bowling’s place in society, why it’s important that bowling survive and thrive, and the industry’s contribution to America. Bowling centers provide jobs and they “build community – very important in this age.” These two aims were wrapped up in a bigger one. Hansell wanted to be helpful to people who own bowling centers. “I didn’t care about anybody else. When I would write, I had in mind the typical proprietor: what could I say to him that would give him a new insight, maybe some inspiration, enthusiasm, and specifically something that would help him run his or her center better?” That sounds like writing about operations but “except for ‘keep your restrooms clean,’ I never got into operational detail. I focused on changes in society, changes in customers, [trying] to see what was going on in other industries or society or government and relate that in a way that would apply to a typical bowling center in Keokuk, Iowa.” As the IBI years went on, Hansell’s view grew “broader,” “more focused on ideas outside the four walls of the center. Bowling is not an island,” he says. “We live in the same society as other industries, government and so on. I tried to focus more on broader themes.” Broad or narrow, the issues Hansell addressed extended further than his own experience. His associates contributed: Ken and Marty Mischel, who cover the Western U.S. for the brokerage; Marcel Fournier, the Northeast; David Driscoll, the Southeast; Pat Bosco, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. Splitting the country provided better customer service for

Premiere “Inside Track” (1995) and the final installment (2009).

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COVER STORY brokerage clients than Hansell could possibly offer all by himself, but it also put him indirectly in closer touch with proprietors around the industry than he could manage alone. That was good for the column. For his own part, the boss spent most of most days talking with proprietors (and still does). It is the only way he could have learned about one of the column’s major topics, he says. “That whole transition from a traditional league center to a more casual, open play, quasi-FEC-type of business. That’s complimented by what we have to do to get the casual bowler in, and that led to more emphasis on the food piece. That also [led] to, ‘as long as we’re bringing in non-traditionalleague bowlers, maybe we should have some non-bowling activities around here.’ You only learn about that as you talk to individual proprietors who are living that every day, with the pluses and minuses.” ■■■

That contact fills what Hansell says is the first requisite if you aspire to be the observer of an industry. In bowling, the contact is “hopefully over a broad geographical area of the country, one advantage I had because of my business as a broker. “Then because I was on several industry committees, I was also close to suppliers, BPAA and state association people.” He has served on a half-dozen or so BPAA committees including the Benchmarking and management school committees. He was tapped for a task force formed this year to re-educate lenders about the industry, and he has spoken at several Bowl Expos and state conventions. “You’ve got to be enmeshed in the industry and second, you’ve got to keep your eyes open to what’s going on in the rest of the world so you see how trends in society, trends in other industries impact bowling, and then find a way to meld all that together.” It also helps to have the rest of Hansell’s equipment: a reporter’s nose, a lawyer’s discernment, an avid reader’s memory, an affable manner, and a penchant for writing. He believes it would be “presumptuous” to claim that the column had a significant effect on the industry. He acknowledges that he has become a go-to man for Inc., The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Associated Press and other national outlets that have quoted him on bowling business, but says the feedback through the years from people inside the industry was his “greatest satisfaction” in writing his column. On the other hand, you can run a business in useless circles if you don’t have a good direction-finder. For more than a quarter-century, one of the industry’s best compasses has been Sandy Hansell. And the track he has traced is the shortest one to the finishing line, the inside track.❖

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November 2010

OPERATIONS

SPECIAL

EDITION Meeting rooms aren’t done by halves at Irvine Lanes.

The separate entrance. Entry to the bowling center is on the left side of the building in this photo.

pstairs from the bowling, Irvine Lanes in the Southern California city of Irvine has always done good special events business. So much so, the 4,000 square feet of meeting rooms has its own marketing, executive chef, and name: Back Bay Conference Center. But old business has been eclipsed by a boom since the upstairs was gutted and re-done about two years ago with corporate events in mind. Sliding walls now can turn a row of four rooms into three, two or one; and a bank of three can become one or two rooms. A non-convertible room and a conference room round out the space. Almost all the birthday parties at

A “speed networking” meeting. Sliding walls were moved to turn three rooms into one that can accommodate 200 diners.

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OPERATIONS Irvine Lanes have moved downstairs, where they are staged behind the 40 inline lanes. Upstairs, major health care companies, accounting firms, BNI networking meetings, real estate companies, dance clubs and bar mitzvahs – you name it – from all over Southern California run the tally at the conference center to an average of 300 events per month. About two-thirds of them include bowling in their event package. The room rate is $100 to $800 A luncheon for Kaiser Permanente staff. “The Board Room.” It seats 10.

depending on the length of time and number of people booked, according to general manager Stephanie Maurer. The full catering service can provide any meal. And parking, as at most bowling centers and unlike most hotels, is free. “Once we get them in here,” says Maurer, “the word-of-mouth goes. [They] find out what an impeccable job we do.” ❖

A meeting room prepared for a classroom session with continental breakfast.

About 65% of special events upstairs include bowling downstairs.

How do you promote meetings at your center? Share your success on www.BowlingIndustry.com. IBI

November 2010

PROFILE

After five years out of the industry, real estate developer Jim Hooberman returns by buying a center in Michigan. “

Jim Hooberman. “Deep” organization for a classic, old-school business.

THE

CHARM OF BOWLING 34

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he bowling business is stagnant. This is not a growth industry. You have to reinvent yourself constantly in order to make bowling exciting for a new generation of people.” Then why buy a bowling center if you’re a go-getter young entrepreneur who already has 750,000 square feet of commercial property in the portfolio – and in Michigan, at that? “The bowling business isn’t like the green technology business,” Jim Hooberman agrees. “The greening of America is a place to be, one of many places to be. I don’t know that business. I do know the bowling business.” Five years as proprietor of Royal Oak Lanes in the Michigan town of the same name paid his dues. Five years ago, he sold it. He was out of the bowling business until he bought again this year in Grand Rapids.

• Hooberman grew up around architects and real estate developers. His father was a structural steel contractor; an uncle was in industrial real estate in Southern California; cousins owned apartments. “I knew I wanted to be in the real estate business,” but six years as a real estate broker, working for other people, failed to set his sail. “I never really found

PROFILE my place in the world working for others,” is how he puts it, “and I wasn’t always treated fairly, so I decided to start my own business.” That was The Hooberman Companies, in which he partners with his father, Paul. The younger Hooberman never had a mentor, but he did work for a Detroitarea developer who liked the idea of family entertainment centers. There were few of them around Detroit in those days, 20 years ago. “He must have seen a concept [that] was part bowling center and part other things. He came to me and he said, ‘All right, Hooberman, we’re going to build a bowling alley with all these other elements.’ He gave me no direction, no guidance, just said, ‘Go figure it out.’ “I started going to bowling centers trying to figure out, where do I start? I knew the real estate market. You build a building somewhere, and there’s land and building cost, but what goes in it?” One day, walking into a bowling center, a light went on in his head, he says. The sound of the pins...the smell of hamburgers...he liked it. Nothing ever happened with the developer’s plan to build an FEC, but Hooberman remembered it. In 1999, his own company having gotten off the ground, he was driving around Detroit one day and stumbled on Royal Oak Lanes. He wanted it, but not to knock down and put up a Rite-Aide. He wanted to run a bowling emporium. He had decided he liked operating businesses that interested him. Which bowling did. “As sophisticated as technology gets, and as the world is getting,” Hooberman reflects, “there is still something charming and refreshing about an old-school activity that’s not that expensive and relatively easy to be okay at. I’m somebody that walks into a movie theater, a skating rink, a bowling center and I like those sort of classic, old-school businesses. I don’t know why, I just do.”

As a business proposition, Royal Oak was less romantic. Hooberman says he could have continued to run it hands-on and made a living, but he was holding on to his real estate business, which required a good chunk of his time, and that required a different business model if he was going to continue running bowling centers. He would need managers, whom he would manage – “depth” in the organization, as he calls it. “I bought something that was small, a mom-and-pop business, [but] you just don’t seem to have economies of scale with a smaller center. It’s not going to gross as much. In the larger center, assuming you get a certain amount of sales, you can afford to have some depth to your organization. “As a semi-absentee owner, I need that. I need to be able to manage a manager and know that if the manager is on vacation or takes ill, there’s an assistant manager. And in a smaller center that’s really designed for a one-man-band owner, there’s just not that kind of flexibility.” So in 2005, after five years with Royal Oak, he sold it. The moment was fortuitous. Not too long after, property and business values in Michigan began free-falling. For the next five years, Hooberman sat on the sidelines, “in a defensive mode, just trying to keep my head above water. I wanted to focus on keeping what I have leased and in good shape, and that took a lot of my attention. “The opportunities that might have been out there over the last five years I didn’t think warranted investing in. I [hadn’t] been looking in the Detroit area, but when I saw the opportunity come up in an area that I consider to be more stable than

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November 2010

PROFILE Detroit, in an area that wouldn’t cause too much pain for me to go to, I jumped on it. I sort of see stability, and yet prices have come down, so I saw what I hope is an opportunity.”

• Hooberman was talking about Fairlanes, a 44-lane house in a Grand Rapids suburb, Grandville. The deal closed in September. Fairlanes had been one of many possibilities broached by center broker Sandy Hansell in conversation when the two would meet at the gym they belong to. Sandy Hansell and Associates had brokered the Royal Oak Lanes transaction. The seller was Mark Voight, whose Community Bowling Centers units had the “deep” management structure Hooberman was seeking. “Mark is really managing a manager, only he has a regional manager and a general manager. I went with the Mark Voight model.” Fairlanes was also valued as Hooberman himself would do, “based on a financial statement that had all the stuff in it that I would have. One of the issues I’ve had as I’ve looked at centers over the years [is where the center is] run by someone as a manager and they don’t have a salary expense for that. Here, because I bought from a chain, all the people that need to be on salary are in.” Unlike some experienced proprietors, however, Hooberman buys on cash flow rather than gross income. “I look at current seller income statements with a high degree of reliance on net income. I will buy it as a multiple of net income. That’s how I look at all businesses. There’s incoming coming in, there’s expenses going out, what’s left?” Proprietors usually “seem to ask different questions during their due diligence than I do. Fred Kaplowitz seems to analyze centers differently. I consulted with those people and that’s why I know we’re not all on the same page on how to value a center. “They ask, ‘How many league bowlers 36

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November 2010

are there? I want to know the league bowler count the last three years, and lane availability, pricing of the game.’ You could ask me specific questions about what my pricing is today, per game, per leagues, and I couldn’t tell you because I focus mainly on gross income, gross expenses and how those compare to industry trends, and what’s left at the end of the day.” There was an element of risk here when he bought Fairlanes, Hooberman knows. “The risk that I was slightly less knowledgeable than others that really, really understand the bowling business because they’ve been in it so long.”

• We talked to Hooberman three days after he had added Fairlanes to his portfolio. Though he plans on being a “semi-absentee owner,” he also thinks 75% of his working time will be devoted to the new center for a while, “thinking about, worrying and being at Fairlanes.” He won’t be cutting back on the real estate business; he will be adding working hours. He plans on the two-hour drive from Detroit to Grand Rapids several times a week, to start. “There’s a lot of ‘getting to know each other’ that needs to happen between me [and] the staff, me and the customer, and me and the physical plant,” Hooberman says. “If I went there four or five days a week for the first couple of months, I’ll probably be going three days a week for a period of time, and then maybe it’ll be two. Between Skype and video cameras and email and computers, I think it will be okay to not be there, assuming everything is running smoothly, on a daily basis.” He has long- and short-run goals, including a sweeping upgrade of the center. A master plan is being developed to add redemption and improve the snack bar and bar. He expects the Hooberman brand – his effect on the patron’s experience – will lie in getting “closer to the ears of the consumer.” That echoes Voight, who has told us on various occasions that an independent center can always be run better than a chain unit. Says Hooberman, “I think the level of customer service will be a little better under my stewardship because the boss sometimes has a different opinion than the staff from their own experiences, and I’ll be much closer and have much more personal access to that.” He thinks he has a good future in bowling. He knows the business from his five years at Royal Oak and he believes his temperament gives him a strategic advantage. “In general, bowling centers seem to have been built in another era where if you build them, they will come. A lot of second-generation bowling center owners still operate that way. And that leaves the playing field open for someone who’s going to market themselves a little smarter and work it a little harder than those that are just sitting by and waiting for customers to come in the door.” League bowling may be down, but the market isn’t going away. People still like to go out and have inexpensive entertainment with the family, he says. “As much as it may have changed with some of the graphics on the scoring system, it’s still basically the same game. I think people, especially in Grand Rapids, like clean family fun. So I think it’s a solid business. It just isn’t something that everybody does, like they might have done in the ’40s and ’50s.” Could bowling become more popular as the world becomes more technologically sophisticated? He doesn’t know but people won’t chuck bowling for bowling video games. “I hope not, at least. I think there’s a niche for it. Maybe too many lanes out there, but people still want to go out and bowl. “I’m open to opportunity. Assuming that the stars align and this [Fairlanes] becomes a profitable investment, I would like to add to the portfolio.” ❖

SHOWCASE BOWLING PARTS

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STAIN REMOVER

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SCORING ENVIRONMENTS

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BALL RACK AND HOOD

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MARKETING PROGRAM

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PATENT ANNOUNCEMENT

PARTS REPAIR AND EXCHANGE

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GKM International, LLC, manufacturer of the patented Smart Seat for renewing AMF and Brunswick bowler seating, has been awarded a patent for its new Profit Platform. The device makes it possible to cover lanes and easily create additional floor space for a wide variety of profit-making functions without damaging the lane surface. For more information, visit www.ProfitPlatform.com.

AccuVision LCD Monitors by QubicaAMF are engineered as a complete system providing a top-ofthe-line LCD panel to deliver a consistent, classic look. Your score grid will be correctly fitted on the screen. Monitors are integrated with TV control. Available with Qubica Bowland & Bowland X, AMF MagicScore, AccuScore I & II, AccuScore Plus & XL, BOSS, Brunswick Vector, FrameWorx, AS-80/90C. For more information, visit www.qubicaamf.com or call 866-460-7263, option 2.

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IBI November 2010

DATEBOOK

CLASSIFIEDS

DECEMBER 6 Bowling Centers Association of Wisconsin mid-winter retreat location TBA. Gary Hartel, bcaw@bowlwi.com.

2011

JANUARY 19-22 BPAA’s Bowling Summit Red Rock Resort and Casino, Las Vegas. 800-343-1329.

FEBRUARY 28 Illinois State BPA board of directors meeting and Leadership Development Workshop Doubletree Hotel, Bloomington. Bill Duff, 847-982-1305, billduff@bowlillinois.com.

MARCH 8-10 1st International Bowling Exhibition Kuwait 2011 Mavenpick Convention Center, Salmiya. www.BestExpo-kw.com.

MAY 16 Illinois State BPA board of directors meeting Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Normal. Bill Duff, 847-9821305, billduff@bowlillinois.com.

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JUNE 26-7/1 Bowl Expo Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine, TX. 888-649-5685. 38

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November 2010

on the web: bowlingscorer.com email: mike@bowlingscorer.com

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CLASSIFIEDS

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE AMERICAN-MADE PINSETTER PARTS – HIGHEST QUALITY. Visit us on the web at www.ebnservices.com or call toll free (888) 435-6289. USED BRUNSWICK PARTS, A2 parts and assemblies. Large Inventory. www.usedpinsetterparts.com. NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-2556436 or jayhawkbowling.com. Pinsetter Parts New from ALL major manufacturers. HUGE IN STOCK inventory. USED Brunswick Scoring parts, AS90 cameras, processors, lane cables, monitors, and PC boards. Order online @ 888SBIBOWL.com or (888) 724-2695. The Mechanics Choice! Buy or Sell @ www.bowlingyardsale.com; one-stop shopping for bowling equipment — from lane packages to dust mops! REPAIR & EXCHANGE. Call for details (248) 375-2751. FOR SALE: 27” monitor for AccuScore Plus & AccuScore XL; used Synthetic Pin Decks. Ken’s Bowling Equipment (641) 414-1542. FOR SALE: 40 lanes Brunswick Frameworx tables & seating; 13 back Frameworx tables, ½ ball racks & shelves; 16 lanes Brunswick Frameworx lower section masking units. All equipment in very good condition & in storage. Call Mike C (802) 655-3468 for pricing.

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November 2010

CLASSIFIEDS EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Complete AMF bin assemblies, 4 years old, all component partsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;30 available for $225/each; 2 for $425 each; 3 for $600 each. Call for details. Also 32 BOSS touchscreen table mounted monitor assemblies in good condition. (248) 318-3020.

EQUIPMENT WANTED LANE MACHINES WANTED. We will purchase your KEGEL-built machine, any age or condition. Phone (608) 764-1464. AMF AccuScore XL or BOSS scoring (712) 253-8730.

CENTERS FOR SALE 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. CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, auto scoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s. Great food sales. Yearly tournament. Attached, large 3 bedroom apartment w/ fireplace. $550K. (715) 223-8230.

IBI

November 2010

CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE

I could not have gotten my loan without him. Scott Seach Beech Grove Bowl Beech Grove, IN The leading source for real estate loans with low down payments

UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/ commercial building built in 1992. Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring, kitchen and room to expand! Reduced to sell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611. EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-lane Brunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thru liquor store in small college town. Also, 3 apartment buildings with 40 units, good rental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701) 430-1490. SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained 8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant. Includes business and real estate. Nice, smaller community. Owner retiring. $212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828.

Ken Paton (503) 645-5630 www.kenpaton.com kpaton@kenpaton.com

LOCKER KEYS FAST! •Keys & Combo Locks for all Types of Lockers.

SOUTHERN INDIANA (close to Indianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick center with lounge, liquor license & movie theater on 4+ acres. Turnkey business. Owner retiring. Great investment! (765) 349-1312.

•One week turnaround on most orders.

CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center and restaurant in central Idaho mountains. Small town. Only center within 60-mile radius. Brunswick A-2 machines; Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring. (208) 879-4448.

•Used locks 1/2 price of new

SE WISCONSIN: 12-lane Brunswick center including building, real estate & 7 acres. Raised dance floor, grill, pro shop, arcade, tanning room and more. Reasonably priced. Owner retiring. (920) 398-8023. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane center w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f building w/ lots of parking. Newly remodeled bar & large kitchen. Owner retiring. (530) 598-2133.

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818-789-2695

•New locks All types

All keys done by code #. No keys necessary.

FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:

530-432-2933

CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEY INTʼL 530-432-1027 Orange County Security Consultants 10285 Ironclad Road, Rough & Ready, CA 95975

For FLORIDA CENTERS Call DAVID DRISCOLL & ASSOCIATES 1-800-444-BOWL P.O. Box 189 Howey-in-the-Hills, FL 34737 AN AFFILIATE OF SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES IBI

November 2010

CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Island region. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmic bowling, auto scoring. Established leagues + many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill @ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.

SOUTHERN NEVADA: 8-lane center. Only center in town of 15,000. 30 minutes from Las Vegas. AMF 82-70s, newer Twelve Strike scoring. R/E leased. Will consider lease/option with qualified person. REDUCED TO $175,000. Call Steve @ (702) 293-2368; email ljjaa1414@yahoo.com.

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November 2010

CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s, Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game & pool rooms. See pics and info @ www.visitcolby.com or contact Charles (785) 443-3477. CENTRAL ILLINOIS: 8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables, Karaoke machine, DJ system. PRICED TO SELL. Includes RE. (217) 351-5152 or toms-uvl@sbcglobal.net. SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12 lanes + café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bedroom home. Full liquor & fireworks licenses. Outside Salt Lake City area. Dennis @ Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 or uintarlt@allwest.net. WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One of the top five places to move! Remodeled 32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.1m gets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828) 253-0362.

PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70 S.S. & M.P. MACHINES Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. Board Exchange & Repair! A reasonable alternative for Chassis and P.C. Board Exchanges

CENTERS FOR SALE SW WISCONSIN: 10 lanes, new automatic scoring/sound. Bar/grill. Great leagues, local tournaments, excellent pinsetters. Supportive community. 2 acres off main highway. $299,995. (608) 341-9056. GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, real estate included. Great location in one of fastest growing counties in metro Atlanta. 5 years new with all the amenities. Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane center REDUCED to $799,000 for quick sale. Synthetics, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f + parking. Newly remodeled bar, large kitchen. Owner retiring. Will consider selling only equipment or building. www.siskiyoulanes.com. (530) 598-2133.

CENTERS FOR SALE NW INDIANA (Lake Michigan/National Lake Shore area): Well-maintained 32lane center, family owned & operated since 1997 with spacious nightclub lounge on 6.6 acres. Also billiards, arcade, pro shop, full-service restaurant, established leagues, birthday party activity & MORE! Owner retiring. Reasonably priced. (219) 921-4999.

AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC board repair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fast turnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service 5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054 Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695) Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon) E-mail: wb8yjf@earthlink.net Visit us on the WEB! http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/

NORTHWEST LOUISIANA: 12-LANE Brunswick center. REDUCED TO SELL NOW! Includes auto scoring, glow bowling, pizza, large dining area & video poker. Good income. Long Lease. Great opportunity. Call Mike (318) 578-0772.

(570) 346-5559

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818-789-2695

MIKE BARRETT Call for Price List

Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576

IBI

November 2010

CLASSIFIEDS CENTERS FOR SALE

NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes, 19,200 square feet, 1.68 acres paved, sound & lighting, lounge w/ gaming, arcade, full service snack bar & pro shop. Call (775) 934-1539. CENTRAL ALABAMA: Recently remodeled, split house w/24 synthetic lanes (16 & 8) in 28,000 s/f building in shopping center; Brunswick A2s & 2000 seating; AccuScore Plus; VIA returns & storage tables; systems for Cosmic; established leagues; snack bar, pro shop & game/pool table area. Nearest competition 28 miles w/ colleges & Honda factory within minutes. Need to sell due to health. Reasonably priced. (435) 705-0420.

BUY

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Danny & Daryl Tucker Tucker Bowling Equipment Co. 609 N.E. 3rd St. Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-4018 Fax (806) 995-4767

Bowling Parts, Inc. P.O. Box 801 Tulia, Texas 79088 Call (806) 995-3635 Email - bpitx@texasonline.net

www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com

NORTHERN WISCONSIN: Turnkey business. 12-lane center, Brunswick A-2s, Frameworx scoring, full bar and restaurant. Good league base with large tournament. Contact Bruce @ (715) 614-7779. NEW MEXICO: 24-lane center in Clovis – Brunswick Vector scoring system, game room & kitchen. Call Susan, Coldwell Banker (575) 714-4018. ARIZONA, PAYSON: 16 LANES. Assume mortgage. Details @ http://rimcountry lanes.com/4sale.pdf. Bob (602) 377-6657. NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling. Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluth w/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Two large State employment facilities nearby. High six figure gross. $1.2m. Call Bryan (2180 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com.

MINIATURE GOLF COURSES Indoor/Outdoor. Immediate Installation. $5,900.00 & up. 2021 Bridge Street Jessup, PA 18434 570-489-8623 www.minigolfinc.com 44

IBI

November 2010

SW IDAHO: 8-LANE CENTER w/ award winning restaurant, new lanes & scoring. $500,000 includes equipment & real estate. Nicely profitable. Owner financing. Call Ron @ Arthur Berry & Co., (208) 639-6171.

WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM

CLASSIFIEDS SERVICES AVAILABLE Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring Ball Repair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com.

INSURANCE SERVICES 30+ YEARS INSURING BOWLING CENTERS – Ohio, Illinois & Michigan. Property & Liability; Liquor Liability, Workers Comp, Health & Personal. Call Scott Bennett (248) 408-0200, Scott@Bowl-mail.com; Mark Dantzer, CIC (888) 343-2667, Mark@DieboldInsurance.com; or Kevin Elliott.

MECHANIC WANTED Mechanics – AMF 82-70s in Kentucky & Indiana. Call Dennis (502) 722-9314.

POSITION WANTED Brunswick “A” mechanic, 12+ years experience, AS-80/AS-90 scoring system expertise. Former owner/GM. Willing to relocate. Contact me at (308) 380-8594. Wanted—-job as a manager for a Brunswick center. 30+ years experience in all phases of running a center. Trustworthy with great references. Seeing is believing! Call Owen (763) 497-3139. Please leave message.

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818-789-2695

"Bowling Center Construction Specialists" New Center Construction Family Entertainment Centers Residential Bowling Lanes Modernization Mini Bowling Lanes Automatic Scoring CONTACT

BRIAN ESTES

Toll Free: (866) 961-7633 Office: (734) 469-4293

Email: build@capitalbowlingservice.com

www.CapitalBowlingService.com

IBI

November 2010

REMEMBER WHEN

1948-49 H

ope! Heartache! Triumph! And you thought bowling was undramatic! With 1,360,000 bowlers in ABC membership and 363,000 in WIBC, the game must have provided many more high feelings that season, 1948-49. The bowlers cavorted for a seven-page special on bowling in the April 12, 1948 Life that included the inevitable sections on better technique and champ bowlers. Life called Andy Varipapa the best bowler in the world. â?&#x2013;

IBI

November 2010