Bowling is a timeless family fun activity that people of all ages can enjoy. If you’re thinking of opening a bowling alley or are trying to get ideas for your next business venture; in this article you’ll find helpful tips and steps on how to build a bowling alley.
Some of the areas we’ll cover will include:
One of the first choices you’ll need to make is decide whether you want to open your own independent bowling alley or purchase a franchise from a chain company. Both options offer great but different benefits
Independent - If you decide to go the independent route you’ll have the ability to make more choices yourself and not surrender control. Let’s face it, we can all be a control freak at times and if you’re seeking to start your own business odds are you have your vision of how you want things to be done. You’ll be able to make your own choices in the day to day function and operations of your business. You’ll have more control when deciding how you want to market and promote your new bowling center. In the future, you’ll also be able to grow the business and take it down the road you want to.
Franchise - One of the benefits with joining a franchise is that the name and brand is already recognized and established. This can help create a better launch when your alley opens and help generate business when first opening. By being a part of a large franchise, you won’t have to compete against them.
The very first thing you’ll need to do is all the typical paperwork and filing every new business has to do in order to become an official business. This includes but not limited to registering a name and obtaining a local business license. Make sure you file and complete all the paperwork with the office of Secretary of state that is required to start a bowling business.
Finding the right location is a very critical decision that should take proper thought and time. Don’t rush and jump into the nearest vacant building. Below are a few things to consider when looking at various locations for your new business.
Make sure your business is going to be near other forms of entertainment within your community. Consider scouting near concert venues, indoor or outdoor shopping malls, movie theatres, restaurants, and other entertainment types business.
Rent or Buy - When you finally find a building suitable for your bowling center, you may be wondering if you should buy or rent. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Some of the benefits or renting or leasing a building is that it can help keep your initial investment lower. There are many costs associated with starting a business, so cutting costs where you’re able to is ideal.
Some of the benefits of purchasing the building include freedom to modify the building as much as you’d like. You also don’t have to be concerned with the owner wanting you to leave after your lease or rental agreement ends.
For a free consultation and more in depth conversation on making this decision, feel free to contact Global Bowling and we would be more than happy to offer you all of the help we can.
Demographics - Demographics play a key role in selecting a location for your future bowling center as well as the number of bowling lanes to install. A gauge that’ll help you determine the number of lanes that are ideal for you location is to have 1 lane for every 2,000 people within a 5 mile radius of your facility. If you are the only bowling area in your city or county, that 5 mile radius can be expanded.
More information can be pulled from demographic studies and can help you in making decisions for your future business. Demographic studies can run upward of $15,000. If you’re interested in receiving a free one, contact us at Global Bowling and we’d be happy to provide one for you.
Property Sizes - Once you have decided how many lanes you want to build, you’ll need to find a property that can fit all of the equipment you’ll be installing. Here are a few measurements to help give you a rough estimate of how large of a property you’ll need to build your bowling alley.
The spaces below are to give you a rough estimate of the property size you’ll need. The sizes below also leave room for additional revenue streams such as bar, restaurant, and other attractions.
Another important factor to keep in mind when looking for property is the amount of space you have for parking. When searching, always try and seek a location with a parking lot since parking lots are expensive to build. A general rule of thumb is to have 4-5 parking spaces for every bowling lane your center has.
Coming from a company that builds bowling alleys, you can not have bowling be the only revenue stream for your center. The days of 100 lane league houses are gone, and a new wave of family entertainment lounge bowling alleys is here. You can fight or disagree all you want, but it’s the truth. We would much rather sell you less lanes of bowling and have you spend some of your budget on other revenue streams, so that you can be successful in the long haul.
While bowling generates great profits and is a major attraction, in order to take your alley to the next level you will need to accompany your lanes with other exciting attractions. The common revenue streams throughout family entertainment centers include restaurants, bars, and arcades. To go even further and make your center a destination location consider adding other major attractions such as Go Karts, Miniature Golf, Lazer Tag, Ropes Courses, and a number of other major attractions. This will help you get a better return on investment and help your bowling center generate greater revenue.
If you need help looking for other major attractions give us a call or send us an email and we would love to be a part of your project and help however we can.
When starting a bowling alley you’ll need to find a company that manufactures the equipment and can install it, luckily for you we know a great company wink wink nudge nudge.
Bowling equipment is not something your general contract can install. There are special requirements and regulations your lanes need to meet to be USBC (United States Bowling Congress) approved. Lanes will need to be USBC approved to run sanctioned leagues. Here at Global Bowling not only do we manufacture bowling equipment, we also have a professional bowling lane installation team that has been installing lanes for years. We can handle the bowling so you can get back to running your business and focus on what needs your attention.
Depending on the number of lanes, the bowling installation process will take several weeks. Be sure to contact a bowling contractor with plenty of time. Below is a timeline image that will give you an idea of the bowling construction steps and roughly how long the installation process will take.
Staff hiring should take place 2-3 weeks before your grand opening. This will allow for plenty of time to train your staff. The kitchen should be able to work out the kinks in their operation. Your staff will be in charge of your POS systems and over time will become confident and familiar with the software and performing regular tasks. This also provides a flexible window of time for the bowling manufacturer to come in and train your staff on how to operate and maintain your bowling lanes.
If you will be offering food to your guests, you should start looking into placing orders for your food and have a general idea of what your menu will be. There are many food consultants you can get in contact with that can help you put together the ideal menu for your alley.
You should schedule to have the food arrive 7 days prior to your grand opening. This will allow you time to organize and to be sure the quality meets your standards. It will also be close enough to your opening that you won’t have to be worried about food spoiling.
If you are considering opening a bowling alley or getting into the family entertainment industry please contact Global Bowling and our team will be able to give you more details specific to your project.