This has probably been talked about before but I wanted to vent.

32 lane house.  Our league takes up 30 lanes.  Back in the day, most houses would leave that last pair open incase a league pair broke down.  Not anymore.  Open bowling on both lanes.  Kids, bumpers, teenagers - all right against the leagues. 

Owner doesn't want to turn away business.  But the league can pay for the lane(s) in their linage and he will keep them off.  Really? 

Tough situation from both sides.  "Back in the day"  there were hoards of league bowlers and the cost of doing business wasn't nearly the same as it is now, not to mention capital improvements to your facility are ridiculous. 

At my center we try our best to keep a pair or at least one lane between leagues and open bowlers.  Sometimes though you can't turn away money, and you have to do your best at explaining to the open bowlers lane courtesy.  We also offer a set amount if the leagues would like to "rent" those lanes for the time period their league takes (never happens but we offer) 

Even if you look at the percentages of league bowling income to open bowling income, it used to be 70/30 in favor of leagues "back in the day"  Now you're probably looking at 50/50.  I know in our center we used to have 2200+ league bowlers (24 lane center) which is HUGE.  Now we have about 600.  Times have changed and probably will never go back to the "good ole days"

24 lane house.  A few years ago, most nights all 24 were used by leagues, then the leagues were told they had to drop down to 20 teams as 4 lanes were to be reserved for open bowling. 

Risk upsetting the league bowlers?  I've seen the exact situation where the open bowlers had more courtesy than the league bowlers.  The league bowlers acted like they owned the place because they bowled in a league.  If the twice a season that they MAY have to bowl next to open bowlers is going to upset a league bowler they need to get over themselves. 

The only people that will really understand are people that own their own business.

If you own a business are you going to upset more customers that are consistantly regulars for 36 weeks for 1 or 2 lanes in a 2.5 hours period?

What is one lane for 2.5 hours vs the 30 lanes that are bowling for 2.5 hours? What is that worth to a center?

Id love to see someone bowling great working on an 800 series or just a good game and have a group of kids put on the pair next to them. Because that is what we all want to bowl next too for 2.5 hours.

I've played in a golf tournament every year on an 18 hole course. The tournament has two squads and both are usually full. Or one squad is over full and one is almost full. Well the course started letting open golfers come through and in between sqauds go out on the course along with playing in on the afternoon squads. The first year this happen they said "hey, we didnt pay all of this money for the whole course for you to also allow people not in our tournament in". Course said they didnt want to turn away customers.

Same thing happen the following year.

Now the tournament is no longer held at that course. Guranteed full business for a Friday in spring up till 5pm is gone. Minimum 144 golfers. All to let a few extra golfers in and not turn away business.

1 or 2 lanes for 2.5 hours is not worth losing guranteed business.

I bowled a second shift league and it wasn't as big as the other leagues. so after 9 pm, they all come in loud and ready to get drunk! I really don't mind at all, as long as they are a pair or two away, they can party all they want.

I especially don't mind when the group of college girls come too.  They've improved my scores and the scores of the guys as well...lol

As I said, the only people that will really understand are people that own their own business. 

Most bowling centers struggle just to stay open.  If they do something like filling empty lanes 3 or 4 nights a week it probably brings in enough money in a year to pay a month's electric bill or pay a part time employee's wages for half the year.     

Let's look from another perspective.

Let's say I'm an open bowler, i come in to bowl and I'm put next to a league.  The league bowlers are not nice to me and my group (for reasons of lane courtesy, I'm drinking some beers, or I'm being too loud, etc). When that happens what makes me want to even consider joining a league?  If I'm new to bowling, I would be turned off by that type of treatment. And yes maybe it was just that league, but my perception might be, well all leagues must be like that. Doesn't help our game grow any does it?

Like i said in my center the situation only comes up once or twice a season. I'm not going to tell someone hey you can't bowl tonight when I have lanes available to sell. League bowling is the backbone of our business, but if we had no open bowling we would never get any new blood into leagues. Bowling is more about friendships and community than the actual sport at a league level, how can we grow if we aren't more inviting to the open bowler? The open bowler comes in, gets hooked, and joins a league at least thats the hope.  I don't know any centers that have people plainly come in the door and ask to join a league (a couple here or there but not many) our jobs as bowlers and proprietors is to get those open bowlers to have fun and want to bowl a lot more.