From what I have heard, the two foot buffer zone is there because some open play bowlers sued AMF citing a slippery condition that caused injury.  I asked a center manager at a tournament that filled the entire house why it was oiled that way, it's not like a tournament bowler would sue if they ventured beyond the foul line and slipped.  I was told policy is policy, not matter who was bowling.  That caused me to ask if the AMF World Cup also did that and I never got an answer
Also, at our local AMF center, the act of pushing the Kegel machine two feet also broke something, so the machine oils and cleans inconsistently from lane to lane.  Was told that they did not have the budget to fix it.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but while at AMF Land Park this weekend, the Pro Shop was busy moving everything out. One of the local guys said AMF/Bowlmor wasn't willing to work with him, so he was going to run a Shop from his house instead.

That can't be a good sign for leagues, right?

Quote from: milorafferty on January 29, 2014, 04:09:20 PM

I forgot to mention this earlier, but while at AMF Land Park this weekend, the Pro Shop was busy moving everything out. One of the local guys said AMF/Bowlmor wasn't willing to work with him, so he was going to run a Shop from his house instead.

That can't be a good sign for leagues, right?

Wow.. That is NOT good.

For those not in the Sacramento area, there are/were a good number of AMF alleys:

Mardi Gras Lanes
Land Park
Rocklin
Alpine Valley (closed)
Crestview (closed before Bowlmor buyout)
Fireside (not sure if it was truly AMF; independent anyway)
Capitol (independent)
Woodhaven (closed)
Lake Bowl (independent)

If they closed down a lot of these alleys, and have pushed a pro shop out, IIRC Mardi Gras is the city's largest house, at 50 lanes. If they push the pro shop out from there, this does not bode well for the area.

Though, I would say that what they are doing with Starlite would be the prime example of what they would do for the entire country.

BL.

Quote from: milorafferty on January 29, 2014, 04:58:25 PM

Quote from: bradl on January 29, 2014, 04:39:59 PM

Quote from: milorafferty on January 29, 2014, 04:09:20 PM

I forgot to mention this earlier, but while at AMF Land Park this weekend, the Pro Shop was busy moving everything out. One of the local guys said AMF/Bowlmor wasn't willing to work with him, so he was going to run a Shop from his house instead.

That can't be a good sign for leagues, right?

Wow.. That is NOT good.

For those not in the Sacramento area, there are/were a good number of AMF alleys:

Mardi Gras Lanes
Land Park
Rocklin
Alpine Valley (closed)
Crestview (closed before Bowlmor buyout)
Fireside (not sure if it was truly AMF; independent anyway)
Capitol (independent)
Woodhaven (closed)
Lake Bowl (independent)

If they closed down a lot of these alleys, and have pushed a pro shop out, IIRC Mardi Gras is the city's largest house, at 50 lanes. If they push the pro shop out from there, this does not bode well for the area.

Though, I would say that what they are doing with Starlite would be the prime example of what they would do for the entire country.

BL.

I've heard rumors of a new house opening in Rancho Cordova. A couple of different people have mentioned that the city is working with a group to build something, but I have no first hand knowledge of it.

They are in the final stages of talks with the city council (I live in Rancho). My understanding is that they want to make it into another Strikes Rocklin or Strikes Elk Grove; basically what Bowlmor wishes they could do. Unfortunately, it is going to be next to a very nice neighbourhood of homes, bring a lot of noise, activity, and commotion along with it.

It is proposed to go on that stretch of unused land on the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Sunrise Blvd. and White Rock Road. Whether it will indeed happen, I don't know. I'm of two frames of mind; it would cut down seriously on commute times for me (perhaps walking distance), but with having 2 toddlers, I don't know if I want the noise/ruckus in my backyard.

BL.