While the craze(crazy) of the day is to close bowling alleys, to see an older alley get an update, and look more retro than it already did is actually some good news. Enjoy.

http://www.omaha.com/living/year-old-bowling-alley-at-immaculate-conception-church-undergoes-an/article_56f1814f-6cc5-53b8-b17b-f068f2751871.html

60-year-old bowling alley at Immaculate Conception Church undergoes an update — now looks even more retro
Posted: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 12:30 am | Updated: 12:48 pm, Wed Jan 6, 2016

By Michael O’Connor / World-Herald staff writer

First you notice the flashing, old-timey neon sign showing a bowling ball crashing into pins.

Step inside the building and you see 10 shiny golden lanes, avocado-green ball returns and sturdy, curved wooden benches for bowlers to rest on as they sip a beer between frames.

The retro look of the bowling alley at Omaha’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is an authentic one. The alley opened in 1955, when President Dwight Eisenhower ran the country, kids danced to “Rock Around the Clock,” and sedans looked like battleships on wheels.

Even though the alley has always looked like a blast from the past, recent changes have made it look even more like it did when bowlers first aimed for strikes more than a half-century ago at ICC, as the South Omaha parish is commonly known.

Enhancing the retro look and improving the marketing are part of an effort to boost business and keep balls rolling and pins falling for another 50 years, said the Rev. John Brancich, church pastor.

“The parish now sees it as a treasure,’’ he said.

ICC’s Bowlatorium — its official name — is the only parish bowling alley in Omaha and only one of a few left in the nation, Brancich said.

When it opened, though, it was one of two within a few blocks of each other. The historically German St. Joseph Catholic Church had one, but its lanes closed about 45 years ago.

The ICC alley arrived during the population boom of the 1950s, when South Omaha brimmed with the families of immigrants from Poland, Germany and other parts of Europe. ICC was a predominantly Polish parish, with priests and parishioners named Wisniewski, Krzcki and Konieczka.

The Bowlatorium is below the parish gym at 24th and Bancroft Streets, right across from Stoysich House of Sausage, another South Omaha institution.

Steve Sempeck, who formerly owned alleys including Sempeck Bowling & Entertainment in the Omaha area, was hired as manager in fall 2014 and said alleys with a retro look have become a popular niche in the industry. ICC was in a great position to capitalize on that, he said.

Over the years, some of the alley’s original equipment was replaced, but some was still in storage. In the past year, workers have reinstalled some of the original pieces, such as the avocado-green Brunswick ball returns and pin-setter “masks,” the fiberglass coverings at the ends of the lanes.

Plastic chairs installed in the 1970s were removed and replaced with shiny, 1950s-era wooden benches, the type ICC had when it opened. Walls were repainted avocado-green and cream to match the original colors.

Sempeck grew up in the parish and remembers how the Bowlatorium looked, but pulled out photos of the alley from the 1950s to make sure the changes captured the original style.

Trevor Petersen bowled at ICC last month during a corporate party and said he loved the atmosphere.

“It’s got a classic vibe,’’ he said.

Some parts of the alley never changed, such as the brown tile floor. There are even 50 bowling balls from the alley’s early days still in good enough shape to be flung down the lanes.

Another original piece is the bar, where bowlers can buy a Bud for three bucks or go upscale with a $4 Heineken.

You don’t have to look hard for signs the bowling alley is a Catholic one.

A crucifix hangs from a wall behind the bar. So do paintings of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Below a counter lined with Skittles and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are children’s books about St. Francis and making a good confession. A parishioner’s rendering of St. Bernadette is painted on a wall by lane No. 10, providing inspiration for bowlers faced with knocking down a tough spare.

Like many alleys, the Bowlatorium at ICC for decades relied on business from leagues to keep the doors open. But as interest in the sport waned, so did the business at ICC.

The last leagues at ICC played five years ago, and now the focus is on private parties for birthdays, anniversaries and other events. Corporate parties also are important.

Sempeck said business this fall was better than a year ago, partly because of creation of a website for the bowling alley, adjacent party room and parish gym that gets rented for wedding receptions and basketball tournaments. ICC is also spreading the word through social media.

Brancich said the improved business is a good sign. The goal, he said, is for the bowling alley to become self-supporting by the end of this year.

The church remains part of the Omaha Archdiocese, but since 2007 it has been administered and staffed by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, which is based in Switzerland and whose mission includes training priests to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.

The archdiocese turned administration over to the priestly fraternity primarily so that ICC could become the home of the traditional Latin Mass, which has a loyal following among Omaha-area Catholics, said Deacon Tim McNeil, a spokesman for the archdiocese.

Brancich said that when the fraternity first took over the parish, some church members questioned whether it was worth keeping the alley open.

But he said now there is good support overall for the alley because of its potential to become self-supporting, its importance to the church’s identity and the happy times church members have knocking down pins.

“It’s a good opportunity to get to know fellow parishioners,” said church member Mike LaGreca.

On the first Sunday of every month after 11 a.m. Mass, parishioners gather at the alley to bowl for free. Children squeal as they bumper bowl, and moms, dads and grandparents hoist a ball.

Just as in decades past, cheers ring out when a bowler rolls a strike.

* * *

The Bowlatorium at ICC

What: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parish bowling alley, available for the public to rent for parties and other events

Where: 2708 S. 24th St., Omaha

For more information: bowlatorium.com or 402-346-9731

My youth travel league in the late 80s/early 90s had of our 34 stops at this place. Cinder block walls, and same above-ground ball returns they've had since they've opened. really classic house.

BL.

I read this as well and sent Steve an email to come by and take a look at it.  I am hoping he will let me bowl a few games on the lanes.  If it is nice, I will try to set something up for a corporate event for my co-workers.

Now, I'll preface this by saying that I was young (teenager), so my opinion of it at the time was rather naive (25 years ago).

When I last bowled there, I thought it looked like a dump, especially compared to newer and better places like, say, Mockingbird Lanes, Maplewood Lanes, or even Peacekeeper Lanes at Offutt AFB. God forbid (pun intended) you bowled there and was on lane 1. Left gutter was literally next to the cinder block wall, and with the above ground ball returns that were not the hard plastic ones Brunswick had, you'd have a better chance of breaking your foot against the wall shooting crosslane at a 10 pin, or against the ball return on any even numbered lane (assuming righthander).

Nowadays, I can reflect back on it and actually see the honour of bowling at a place so historic, especially since out of the 24 alleys we had in Omaha, 12 have closed, and the fact that only a handful of alleys like ICC exist in the country.

I think you'll like the place, as Steve owned his own house and managed Gateway Lanes (which Steve closed to open his own shop). It's a good place for parties/fundraisers, but not a place you'd like to bowl league. So when you go there, keep that in mind and just enjoy the place simply for what it is.

BL.