I think probably bad. I'm not familiar with many bowling centers that survive on open bowling and no leagues period. Leagues generate repeat business on a consistent basis when open play just doesn't.

You need both. Cost of bowling and the economy along with other factors has hurt bowling. Bowling and bowlers are not very great at growing the sport. It is also hard to do when most leagues are 32 weeks and more. That is something hard to get a non-bowler to commit to just to try something out.

I live in a town with no bowling alley.  The closest centers are 25 miles away in just about any direction, so league or open bowling is a chore.  So when I found out that a new bowling alley was being built a mile from my house, I was ecstatic.  After doing some research on the developer, I found out they specialize in "entertainment centers".  Disappointment.  But good news, I will be able to play laser tag 24 hours a day /s.

The open bowl only centers are great for those people who just want to go have a fun time with bowling as the background activity.  But the ones who decide to get into the sport are left at a dead end, because there is no way to advance further into the sport in these places.  No leagues, no organized tournaments, just a dead end.

I am not against these places, but I just wish more of them would carve out a little time dedicates to providing leagues.  Give those open bowlers a reason to come back every week, and give league bowlers a reason to support you.

I still don't have the full details on the new center going up in my town, but I have looked into it.  They only have one other "entertainment center", and it actually does provide a limited USBC sanctioned league schedule.  Now I don't know if they maintain the lanes worth a damn, but at least they are trying.  Hopeful.

As a league bowler I have to say unfortunately you will see more and more of #1 coming into existence. There are "Lucky Strike" centers popping up in more and more cities. These are more nightclub than bowling alley, they just happen to have lanes in them. The Bowlmor centers are popping up including their new Bowlero concept. There are "Lucky Strike" copycats coming out of the woodwork as well. Even centers that used to feature leagues are going to more of an open bowling, cosmic bowling model. It used to be the leagues were King in bowling centers. It mentioned about the repeat business, yada yada yada. It doesn't hold anymore. Why would want leagues, that are shrinking year after year for the most part, that get discounts on their lineage, and are only moderately supporting the bar, when you can charge 2-3x more per game to the open play bowler, also getting shoe rental (and sock purchases for centers that have it in some cases) and make more with less people. Plus, there is less costs as you only have to oil enough to keep the lanes from getting destroyed, maybe once a day or even less, with less volume. You can stretch your lane oil supply out 100-200% + over league play. If you get lucky, there will be a few centers that will still host leagues in every area.

 People's expectations got too high.

 In no other sport or activity that I can think of, do so many of the participants actually believe that they can perform at the professional level. And, in no other sport or activity can I find a governing body that has allowed so much technological advancement in such a short time frame, or one that has allowed the playing of the sport to be so radically altered by those advancements in that same timeframe.  It changed so much, so fast, that it left one generation behind, and didn't allow time for the development of one to replace them.

  You don't have to be a professional, or compete under professional conditions, to enjoy a game of basketball, baseball, football, or a lot of other sports, so why is bowling different?

 I love to bowl.  I enjoy competing in leagues, I've bowled in a few P.B.A. regionals (even cashed in one), but I also enjoy going on a Saturday afternoon bowling with my wife and having to use my plastic ball because it's dry. I JUST LOVE TO KNOCK PINS DOWN!

 To me, it is a beautiful thing to watch a well thrown shot make its way downlane and sweep the pins away. I love to do it, and I love to see it done by others.

 If you love bowling, quit worrying about the state of things, and do something about it. Go bowling today, take the kids, the friends, or the family. Get others interested in doing it by showing them how much fun it is, by showing them it is worth the time and effort, and by getting them involved with something they may come to love as much as you do.

I have been bowling since 1960 when I joined my first junior league.  I still do not understand why so many of the top level scratch bowlers are so critical of the game.  I think bowling is a great game, and feel bad that fewer and fewer kids are getting a chance to try the game long enough to see if they like it. 

I understand the criticisms of the game, and many of them are true, but they still do not diminish the what makes the game great.  I think it is a strength of bowling that it is easy to learn, because it is still impossible to master.  At the highest pro level it is a shame that there isn't enough money to attract young people to the competitive side of the game.  Also, you young guys haven't thought about this yet, but being a sport where you can still be competitive at a pretty high level into your 50's is often over looked. hat he could compete at even a high local level in, and missed that competition terribly.     

Well phrased, Bob. I agree with you.

I don't think technology has had much to do with it.  Bowling boomed in popularity with the introduction of the automatic pinsetter, but was not able to shake the image of smoky pool rooms in the minds of the country club class who dominated board rooms and enjoyed the elite snob appeal of golf.  As a result bowling was unable to get the kind of money behind the professional game that would have seemed to be justified by tv ratings and the overall popularity of the game in the 60's.  It was inevitable that competition from other recreation activities would cut way into the organized local league paradigm.  However, had the pro game evolved financially bowling could be in the position of golf with lots of recreational participation ( which the game has ) plus a competitive level that would entice more youngsters to pursue the game seriously.