I bowl league on Tuesday night at Northrock and my wife bowls Thursday night.
Latest news is that the lanes will not be replaced in time for WIBC, but the really bad lanes will be repaired. Since these synthetics are so old, some lane beds look very poor. The approaches are also synthetic and are sensitive to the weather. I recommend taking some time to check these out and watch for differences between the middle of the approach and the far outside. There is a seem where the approaches meet that has been known to be sticky at times. Get there early enough to get used to the surroundings. This is a pretty large center and that could play tricks on your depth perception if you are used to a small place. Food and drink prices will be fairly high at the snack bar, so eat ahead of time or go to AJ's for some pizza. There is an old fashioned hamburger joint across the street called Jimmy's Diner that has some great malts.
Thunderbird has been remodeled recently and is also a very nice looking facility. There are a couple tiers of steps for the bowler's area that seem to provide quite a bit of room, but lugging balls down the stairs is a little tricky. They have the Quibica score monitors that will show ball speed at around 45 feet. If you haven't seen these before, don't get caught up in watching this too much as you can lose focus on the real task at hand.
Can't speculate on oil pattens, but leagues are just typical house shots. Northrock is much dryer partly due to the worn lane beds.
Pro shop operator at Northrock is pretty good as well as another center in town called Flight Lanes. Pinbuster works part-time at Flight, so he can help you out there.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck and have fun.
