Money paid in equals money paid out. If measures weren't taken to increase the prize fund at the same rate the lineage increased, that's the bowlers fault. And what other sports actually pay out? There's people that play 4 or 5 softball leagues a week in the summer, some people golf twice a week, or play baseball or flag football with ZERO PAYOUT. I can't think of any other sport that you get money back from besides golf leagues, and even then it's a pittance because green fees are expensive (not saying unfairly so, just the nature of the game). Lineage of 13.50 to come bowl 3 games over 3 hours is NOTHING. Completely get rid of the prize funds and just bowl for fun, like you would do in every other sport and it wouldn't be so expensive. Yes you put more money in every week, but you also get money back at the end of the year.
If the prize fund is still 10.50 per person per week 23 years later, while everything has gone up, that is the league's fault, not the economy. It seems to me that somebody hasn't been doing the math right for the last 23 years. Yes it IS very simple math. If costs increase, but prize fund contribution doesn't, well gee, that's gonna result in worse margins . . wow, brilliant conclusion.
