Las Vegas as America’s New Bowling Capital?
Lots of cities have claimed to be America’s Bowling Capital.
Milwaukee (my hometown) was long regarded as such, as it was the home of the former American Bowling Congress for about 100 years and the former Women’s International Bowling Congress for about 40 years. The strong industrial base in Milwaukee – like most other Rust Belt cities – offered numerous factory leagues at all times of the day.
Detroit considered itself the bowling capital because it has had the most sanctioned league bowlers since, approximately, the time counting was discovered.
St. Louis tried earning that distinction when the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum was located there; as well as because it was home to some of the most renowned individual and team players of bowling’s heyday. (Disclaimer, it is a Wisconsin state law to hate the Cardinals, Budweiser, and anything else St. Louis, so I never considered St. Louis as a bowling capital.)
These days, the United States Bowling Congress (born of the merger of ABC and WIBC) is housed in suburban Dallas. They share a building with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, and the Hall of Fame and Museum are now located there, too. The International Training and Research Center is also located on the campus and trains the national teams and serves as a research facility. (Disclaimer, it is a Wisconsin state law to hate the Cowboys, the fact that the bowling congresses moved to the area, and anything Dallas, so they will never be considered a bowling capital, either.)
Reno kind of was a bowling capital for quite awhile. In 1995, the city built a 78-lane bowling stadium within walking distance of the downtown hotels and casinos. The facility does not allow open bowling or leagues (so as not to compete with local bowling centers) but is exclusively a tournament venue. In the 21 years of its existence, it has hosted the men’s national bowling tournament 10 times and the women’s national tournament 7 times (the women’s tournament has also been held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center twice since 1995). Back in the late ’90s, the bowlers loved Reno. However, the decimation of the casino industry (due in large part to Native American casinos opening in California and siphoning off the Northern California gamblers) and the sheer repetition of Reno events for the amateur player have really dropped Reno’s status in their eyes. Bowlers call it “Reno Fatigue.” In 1995, the men’s national tournament set a still-standing record of over 17,000 amateur team entries. The men’s tournament to be held in Reno in 2016 is projected to have the lowest entry count (around 7,000) since the early ’80s.
Enter Las Vegas. South Point’s bowling center was long a host to the Professional Bowling Association’s World Series of Bowling, and wanting to get into the amateur game, they built a 60-lane tournament-only facility that opened in 2014. The agreement will bring both the men’s tournament (four times) and women’s tournament (three times) to the Bowling Plaza through 2023. This new agreement when layered on top of the PBA’s long time home at the former Showboat gives Las Vegas a fair chance to consider itself to be America’s Bowling Capital.
Although South Point’s Bowling Plaza has been open for over a year, the first amateur national tournament opens in April when the Women’s Open Championship begins. And wouldn’t you know it… my beautiful bride is scheduled to compete on the tournament’s opening weekend. That really works out well because, well, she needs someone to act as her valet and bowling manager. Doesn’t she?
The women’s national tournament runs from April 9 through July 10 and will draw an estimated 15,000 women (and many spouses). In a city like Las Vegas, that influx of 5,000 women (and spouses) per month won’t move a needle, but for bowlers, the chance to get to Las Vegas to bowl is like finding an oasis in the desert.
[Images: Michael James & Associates]
Michael James is a true Vegas Nerd. First falling in love after hearing details of an aunt’s visit in the ’70s, and nurtured when the gambling bug hit as casinos started opening on every street corner across the country in the ’90s. When not reading Vegas blogs and message boards, he’s a metals buyer by day and a competitive bowler by night in Milwaukee.
