Bowlmor AMF merger

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StevaReno
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Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by StevaReno »

I got this in my email from AMF last night. I've never heard of Bowlmor. It looks like they run those trendy bowling centers where people don't take bowling seriously.

http://www.bowlmor.com/bowlmor-and-amf- ... of-merger/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by StevaReno »

This looks bad. According to Wikipedia the CEO Tom Shannon took the longest continuously running bowling alley in New York City and.........

"The revamp of Bowlmor Lanes saw the installation of video screens, glow in the dark lanes and balls and lane side food and drink service. Shannon eliminated bowling leagues - an offering that typically attracts only regulars and bowling aficionados - in favor of promotions and events aimed at attracting new fans to the sport."

"Shannon's unique vision continues to unfold as he seeks new opportunities to revolutionize the bowling industry as it is know in America today."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowlmor_Lanes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Bdgf99 »

There is a good article in this months BJI regarding the AMF BowlMor merger, it appears they will have four brands of centers among the AMF and BowlMor centers. I am hoping they keep their leagues as is, but you never know what "visionaries" can dream up.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by rrb6699 »

i have bowled in a center (not a BolMor) with glow in the dark (with blacklighting) lanes. there were outlines around the arrows and dotted lines running from the foul line in between each set of arrows. It was actually interesting to have those lines in between the arrows because you can pick a single line within any of the lines going down the lane. it's almost like having horizontal and vertical target points. you cannot see these lines under normal lighting. i think it is good practice for ranging your mark close to the foul line to beyond the arrows IMHO. much better than just shutting the lights out with no markings on the lane. I'm not saying i'm for or against this type thing but i did get some quality practice while making some small cash shooting for colored pins.

as for the merger, it has already taken my "all you can bowl" business elsewhere. i am not paying 4.95 per game to practice unless there is prize money :0 - what an idea.... now i'm doing a quartermania thing were you pay 5.00 and it's .25/game and hotdog and soda or juice. i bowled 5 hrs last sunday on a 43' THS and loved every minute of the 15 or so games i bowled for about 11.00 including food and beverages.


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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by georgeh »

The success of Shannon and Bowlmor just goes to show the "the old way of doing business" is losing most proprietors additional revenue streams. Just opening the door, is no longer a viable business model in the bowling industry.

Local promotions, in remodeled or updated centers is the new way of doing business in bowling. Video screens, brighter atmosphere and fun, sell, even when it cost money. League bowlers aren't going to pay $7.50 or more per game but, casual bowlers will, if the atmosphere is right. Just the direction bowling is headed.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by guruU2 »

georgeh wrote:Just the direction bowling is headed.
I have been warning people of this "direction" for 40 years. Started via Fair Lanes in the spring of '72.
Bdgf99 wrote:There is a good article in this months BJI regarding the AMF BowlMor merger, it appears they will have four brands of centers among the AMF and BowlMor centers. I am hoping they keep their leagues as is, but you never know what "visionaries" can dream up.
Wally Hall wrote a good summary of the "new AMF's" business model. A good article to read if one wants to get a good sense of the "merger". My sense their emphasis will be the "upgrade centers" (the bars/restaurants with bowling alleys attached to them) let us hope the traditional centers do well. Check out the article!
-Gary Parsons
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by georgeh »

guruU2 wrote: I have been warning people of this "direction" for 40 years. Started via Fair Lanes in the spring of '72.
Wally Hall wrote a good summary of the "new AMF's" business model. A good article to read if one wants to get a good sense of the "merger". My sense their emphasis will be the "upgrade centers" (the bars/restaurants with bowling alleys attached to them) let us hope the traditional centers do well. Check out the article!
After reading my post, it sounded like I was resigned to the demise of bowling by my last sentence. I'm not resigned to any demise.

I should have stated that the successful centers I am entering, all have been remodeled with more light and brighter colors, HDTVs airing sports, reasonable food choices and pricing and a more upscale bar/adult area that doesn't look and smell like the neighborhood tavern. It's just that bowlers both league and casual, have become more discriminating on where they spend the recreational dollar.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Joe Falco »

Wonder where the B&M Pro Shops fit in?
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by kboveington »

I'm glad on one hand people are starting to realize what's happening. On the other hand its scary to think most business models whether starting from new, or remodeled they are following the *fec* models ( family entertainment centers instead of the *traditional * centers we are accustom to seeing. The fec house targets more of the bar & grill/ restaurant, video game, putt putt, laser tag, and oh yeah there happens to be a few pair of lanes in them. Its sad I know, but more and more will continue to pop up I feel. Although I don't personally agree with a center like this. I could see how it could work in the right location. I live in a suburb of Cleveland Ohio, and a few years ago a similar *fec* model house opened up called the corner ally in downtown Cleveland. Only 10 lanes, but again the attractions is the restaurant and bar. I'm not 100% sure but I highly doubt they have leagues there. The one time I went I rolled in with my 3 ball roller and they all looked at me like oh that guy must be coming from the airport or something. Lol! Anyways the place was nice and clean, well staffed, and the food was actually really good. I can see how and why a place like this does well and to my knowledge is very popular and doing well.

However, the house I used to work at briefly cannot say the same. This house is located in the suburbs trying to follow the same business model. It is failing miserably and ill explain why. First thing they did was take out the first 12 lanes and replace them with a bocce ball court. So they went from 90 some lanes to 80 some lanes. They built a whole new large room/bar for banquets and such which gets used about 10 times a year. And they plan on spending *rumor has it a million plus on remodeling everything else, EXCEPT THE LANES. Which all who bowl there or used to bowl there know the first thing that needs to be addressed were the lanes! On a weekly basis the lanes damage multiple balls. As league night goes the racks become slower & slower
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by kboveington »

Sorry apparently I need another post to finish up, so bare with me.

The racks become slower and slower as the night goes on from all the pins being hit out of the pit. The shot was NEVER consistent week to week. There are boards missing on the approach. Gum on and just before the approach. The approach desperately needed to be buffed out, they were turning black by the foul line. And there were many mechanical breakdowns throughout the night. Who wants to bowl at a place like this? Most people throughout the few years of this house collapsing have went down the street to a smaller very well maintained traditional style house and its encouraging to see it do such great business! Sadly I've heard some people quit all together because of the business model changing and glaring lack of care for the lanes and league bowlers.

Its so sad to see an empty house of 80 lanes not being used. This place is still open *for now*. I wish the ownership could see the potential here with such an abundance of lanes. I would make my primary focus fixing the lanes and really concentrating on getting my house full of happy league bowlers! And hosting tournaments and sweepers whenever I can. Once my league & tournament bowlers are happy I would then start addressing other wants and needs throughout my center.

For those that made it all the way through both these posts thanks for reading.

Kevin B.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Joe Falco »

Thanks for the info Kev .. I have a number of AMF houses in my area (Raleigh NC) .. wonder what the future holds in store????
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by billw212 »

I wrote about this "Family Entertainment Center" (FEC) concept in another thread. They all think they can just kick their established customer base of league bowlers to the curb and push them out the door and make more money on video games, crane machines and extracurricular activities. Skee ball. Glow in the dark bowling, bowling in the dark with a DJ spewing horrible music that nobody wants to hear except 14 year olds. (Most 14 year olds don't earn money folks, they get it from their parents)

Bowing centers who focus on everything and anything except bowling are going to fail....

That said, the game is in a really bad state right now. And it's something that video games, laser tag, skee ball, DJ's with crappy music, and brighter paint won't fix. As others have said, the cost has become prohibitive, but also the out of control scoring has driven many of us away and will continue to. Most of us don't want to pay to play a game where we have a near zero chance to compete anymore.

Bowling as a game saw its heyday in the 50s and 60's. And most of the people from that era are much, much older now. Those of us who grew up in the rubber and urethane era are much older now, and we are not finding much fun today in trying to compete with the younger generation of bowlers who grew up in the resin era with balls that cover every board on the deck and half of them twice - and at least around here, it seems there are many more of us older bowlers than there are younger guys, but the younger guys just dominate everything. People who try their best and average 170 don't want to bowl against stacked teams of people who all average well over 200 and who shoot honor scores just about every week. USBC can't continue to pay for the number of rings that are "earned" every year for 300's and 800's, and that is driving the current controversy with awards. They've decided in their wisdom to stop paying .50 a bowler for small awards for the masses so they can continue to pay $50 a ring for the some 60,000 honor scores that are now being shot every year. Because that makes so much sense.

So as the game of bowling as a whole keeps driving away their established league bowlers, particularly those who are older - then I guess it makes some sense that centers aren't making as much money as they need to and maybe this is why they are exploring these other areas where they can try to make a buck. Because the game of league bowlers is DYING. Of course, if they understood their business and took care of their customers in the first place - and didn't have teams that average 495 in the same leagues with teams what average 871 (everywhere), maybe the game as a whole wouldn't be in the state its in. RULE: Teams that are very, very good will drive away all the poorest team and most of the average teams. Then everybody wonders why all their leagues have 4 and 6 teams in them.

So yeah, this issue goes way beyond video games, crane machines, DJ's, and paint. Until the game gets some structure and stops being one giant free-for-all, these are the issues we're going to see. We have "starter" leagues here that have teams of 180 and 190 average bowlers in them. Mixed leagues allow teams of all men. All of this needs to stop, and leagues need to be targeted to goals and skill sets instead of taking anyone who signs up and whoever they bring with them. Capped leagues and draft leagues are the way to "save bowling". Not more of the same nonsense we've been doing. (See the Einstein quotes below!)
- “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

- "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by guruU2 »

kboveington wrote: The racks become slower and slower as the night goes on from all the pins being hit out of the pit. The shot was NEVER consistent week to week. There are boards missing on the approach. Gum on and just before the approach. The approach desperately needed to be buffed out, they were turning black by the foul line. And there were many mechanical breakdowns throughout the night. Who wants to bowl at a place like this? Most people throughout the few years of this house collapsing have went down the street to a smaller very well maintained traditional style house and its encouraging to see it do such great business! Sadly I've heard some people quit all together because of the business model changing and glaring lack of care for the lanes and league bowlers
billw212 wrote:Bowing centers who focus on everything and anything except bowling are going to fail
When bowling centers have bowling managers, not food and beverage managers, managing them again bowling will make a comeback. When we stop confusing restaurants and bars which have bowling alleys attached to them with real bowling centers the industry will stop sending out conflicting marketing messages and bowling-the-sport centers will make a comeback. Put the right people in management with the right marketing and the sport will reverse its decline. The wrong people with the wrong business model have been running the show for 40 years to long.
-Gary Parsons
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by kboveington »

Completely agree guruU2

True story, at the same center previously posted about... I came in on my off day to practice. My manager of 10 plus years Asked me to help a lady with a scoring issue. I thought he was joking being that I was off the clock and it was very simple what he was asking me to calculate. He responded with I do not know how to keep score. I continued to laugh but he was dead serious.

The league coordinator at the time Did not know how many pins were in the rack. Not the pit Which most people do not know and do not care anyways. But we're talking the 10 pins that come down and get set up on the deck. I wish I was making this up. But these unfortunately are both true stories

It would be like going to a mechanic that is never work on cars before. This is what is going on around me. Let's all try and do our best to fix this in any way we can.
Make spares make cut, miss spares miss cut. " Bill O'Neil "
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by guruU2 »

kboveington wrote:Completely agree guruU2

True story, at the same center previously posted about... I came in on my off day to practice. My manager of 10 plus years Asked me to help a lady with a scoring issue. I thought he was joking being that I was off the clock and it was very simple what he was asking me to calculate. He responded with I do not know how to keep score. I continued to laugh but he was dead serious.

The league coordinator at the time Did not know how many pins were in the rack. Not the pit Which most people do not know and do not care anyways. But we're talking the 10 pins that come down and get set up on the deck. I wish I was making this up. But these unfortunately are both true stories

It would be like going to a mechanic that is never work on cars before. This is what is going on around me. Let's all try and do our best to fix this in any way we can.

HERE is the problem with contemporary bowling. Sorry traditionalists, it has very very little to do with bowling balls and scoring. Check out my signature statement.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Jayhawkerken »

I doubt serious bowlers enjoy strobe or neon lighting (and couches). Hopefully league bowling will survive and those who need the glitz will have their outlets also. :)
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Bahshay »

guruU2 wrote:
HERE is the problem with contemporary bowling. Sorry traditionalists, it has very very little to do with bowling balls and scoring. Check out my signature statement.
The worst part about Kevin's story? This is not a tiny bowling alley in the middle of nowhere that simply can't find good resources. This is an 82 lane (formerly 90, before the bocce) alley that:
Hosted a PBA Tournament as recently as 2006
Hosted the collegiate women's championships just last year
Hosted a major, national-level youth tournament just last year
Hosted an amateur tournament large enough to warrant a broadcast on BowlTV just last year
Is still frequented by several former PBA bowlers and Regional champs

Despite all of that, most of the real talent in the area bowls at the 40 lane family owned center down the street run by a family of bowlers that take care of the lanes. The leagues there are better and, more importantly, full. The owners saw that and responded with... bocce courts. They asked for feedback about the lanes after last season and responded with... new paint and carpet.

The potential is certainly there for it to be the best alley in the greater Cleveland area. The decision making is not. At this point, I don't know if its reputation can be saved.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by Bdgf99 »

Hey I think I know that place! Is that near Parma and the outside looks like a barn kind of?

I drove past it once. I ended up at the Red Circle and bowled on bone dry lanes with a spare ball.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

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guruU2 wrote: When bowling centers have bowling managers, not food and beverage managers, managing them again bowling will make a comeback. When we stop confusing restaurants and bars which have bowling alleys attached to them with real bowling centers the industry will stop sending out conflicting marketing messages and bowling-the-sport centers will make a comeback. Put the right people in management with the right marketing and the sport will reverse its decline. The wrong people with the wrong business model have been running the show for 40 years to long.
I think you're wrong here, Gary. I've seen it before in my previous career where they used to promote the most talented individuals into management positions. They, of course, failed miserably a high percentage of the time because they were never trained as managers. The same thing happens and has happened on a daily basis in many of the AMF and Brunswick owned houses that I have seen in the past 25 years or so. Unfortunately this is true whether or not the person placed in that position was a bowler or, in the case of my house's current manager, a pool player.

People trained in one profession do not automatically become people and facility managers unless they undergo serious, long-term AND ongoing training. While they do indeed need to understand what bowling it and how it operates and who a league bowler is and what the PBA is, more importantly, they need to know how to manage, both people and operations. Unless the manager knows both, that position will rapidly bring the operations of the house down around its ears.
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Re: Bowlmor AMF merger

Post by charlest »

Last night when I went to practice, I saw the first result, locally, of the merger: several extremely unhappy (actually very pissed off) employees, especially the mechanics who take care of the machines and do the oiling and lane management. Their hours were cut back a lot, so much so that the head mechanic told me and my friend that he immediately started applying for other jobs. The two mechanics we talked to briefly were almost bitter.

It was 6 PM and while 24 lanes were filled with open bowlers, the other 24 were waiting for a league to arrive. Meanwhile both the snack bar and liquor bar were both closed; no one was attending. Those are this house's and many houses' main source of profit, as far as I am aware.

Here in central NJ, these two guys told us that all the AMF houses were ordered to close from 12:00 - 4:00 PM daily, during the summer.

On the other hand, during the day this summer, when I try to get into the nearest 82 lane Brunswick house to practice, I can't because most lanes are filled with kids from summer camp.
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