Evening star., 1960-05-13
TALKING OF BUSINESS
Bowling Popularity Grows in Area
To SIS Million Fun Industry
BY WILLIAM MacDOUGALL
Star stan Writer

star stan Writer
The gray-haired sportsman
surveyed a plush new Washing
ton area bowling center, its
busting lanes crowded with
teen-agers and housewives.
II remember a time" he said,
when boys under 16 were not
permitted in bowling plants and
when a woman bowler was q
novelty. Many bowling alleys
then we're nothing more than
adjunctS to barrooms.
To-day" he added. you find
mere tots on the lanes, some so
young they use both hands to
roll the ball. and women bowl
.ers now are almost as numer-
Gus as the men,"
This is the new look in bowl
ing, o sport so profitable it has
catapulted its hackers into the
ranks Of big businessmen in the
last several years.
50 Centers in d. C. Area
In the Washington Metropol-
itan Area, some so public bowl
ing centers-(don't call them
"alleyS)-are operating today.
Industry officials estimate they
will gross about SIS million
this year and more, much more,
in 1861.
The reasons are obvious to
anyone who has ever taken a
Sunday afternoon ride in the
Washington suburbs. Bowling
centers are popping up like
daisies in the spring-Some at
a cost of 81 million and more.
including ground, building and
equipment.
There were approximately
$50 lanes in the area at the
end of 1859. BY December 81.
according to industry esti-
mates, the number will nearly
double.
I'VE have made bowling an
acceptable business" declared
C. Edward Goldberg, president
of North America Bowling, Inc,
which operates five centers in
the area. I'VE put it on the
first floor and made it an ac-
ceptable game for the whole
family"
Many Extras" Offered
One new center, the Bowl
Nor, recently opened opposite
the EaStover Shopping Center
in Prince Georges County offer
ing such attractions as a res
taurant. snack bar, nursery
barber shop and beauty parlor.
I'VE think these extras help
to stimulate the bowling busi-
ness" explained Frank King,
assistant manager. "A woman
with small children comes in
to get her hair fixed. and while
she's there, her husband can
bowl. 1t should bring in people
that have never bowled before. ~
Mr.. Goldberg, whose firm has
four centers under construc-
tion and five others in the
planning stage. agreed that
some of the extras are desir-
able. He noted that a bowling
center in Texas even provides
coin operated laundry ma
chimes for its customers.
But the important things
are the location and competi-
tion," he insisted. "PlushnesS is
secondary"
Operators Have Problems
The tremendous growth of
the industry-which officials
say became possible largely
through automatic pin-setting
machines-has also caused a
number Of headaches.
One executive, Edmund F.
Hoey, vice president of Fair
Lanes, Inc, which operates
eight centerS in this area, de-
clared that "overbuilding is a
real problem.
This is supposedly a very
glamorouS business" he said,
but it's actually much harder
and marginal than most people
realize"
He predicted that if the in
dustry continues to expand in
1861 as it has in 1860, it will
be "in a critical condition"
Expects Some to Fail
Overexpansion in certain
neighborhoods, he said, will
cause bankruptcy for some in
dependent operators and seri-
Gus trouble for the chains.
John w. Wood, manager of
three Washington centers, de-
clared fatty that "the future
of the bowling business is lin
ited in the District"
Still another proprietor said
'"The big concern all Of us