Bowling Alleys On A Roll

Bowlers in the Spokane Valley can expect some big changes by the time fall strikes.

Sports Page Lanes, 12828 E. Sprague, will change its name to Players & Spectators and undergo a major renovation. The new facility will include a sports bar with as many as 60 televisions, a 12,000-square-foot arena for game-show style activities or live music, and a new restaurant. The number of bowling lanes will be reduced from 40 to 24.

Valley Bowl, 8005 E. Sprague, will replace all 20 of its lanes with new ones and install new new ball returns. Some of the lanes will also feature bumpers so youngsters don’t have to worry about sending balls into the gutter. The bowling alley’s lounge will be renovated and the building will be a new facade.

Renovation of Sports Page Lanes will begin in mid-May and should be complete sometime in November, said H.T. Higgins, president of the family-run corporation that owns the business.

The main stage area, called Players Arena, will feature all kinds of events from three-on-three basketball to activities based on game shows like The Dating Game.

“We’ll use it for the wildest and craziest things to music acts,” Higgins said.

The sports bar will have enough screens to let people simultaneously watch every pro football game happening in the country on a given Sunday, Higgins said. It will also feature memorabilia celebrating the achievements of local athletes.

The new restaurant interior will look more contemporary than its current, ‘70s-style design.

Higgins said the idea to change the business’s name and focus had been kicked around for about 10 years, but the plan never got off the ground. But recently, “bowling has really struggled nationwide,” making the change more attractive.

“It will be an entertainment facility with bowling,” he said, rather than a traditional bowling alley.

The smaller, 24-lane bowling area will be the same size as when his family first bought the business in the ‘70s, Higgins said.

“It’s gone through major transformations over the years … and now we’re undertaking our biggest project ever.”

The Sports Page will remain open during the renovation.

At Valley Bowl, the emphasis will remain on bowling.

Although some of the changes are still in the planning stage, the idea will be for the place to draw more attention to itself. Now, the building blends in with neighboring businesses. The new facade will be bright and eye-catching.

“We wanted to bet that people would drive by it and spot it, people who never knew that there was a bowling center there,” said Gary Mage, general manager of Valley Bowl.

“Bumper bowling” is catching on all over the country, Mage said. “Kids will always knock down pins,” he said.

Mage thinks a shrinking number of lanes in the Spokane area could actually be good for Valley Bowl. There will be fewer lanes at what is now Sports Page, and Diamond Bowl on the North Side is set to close May 5. Diamond Bowl is also managed by Mage but owned by a different corporation.

Valley Bowl will close during the month of August while the renovation is being done.

, DataTimes