By TOM NELSON Guest Contributor
T
he COVID pandemic may have caused a few open frames in 2020 and early 2021, but the sport of bowling is back rolling strikes at lanes throughout Southern Minnesota in 2022. Thanks to a variety of new promotional concepts, technology enhancements, the return of leagues and diligent sanitation practices, bowling has been able to make a strong recovery from mandated shutdowns during the COVID crisis. “We are absolutely packed on Fridays and Saturdays now,” said Teri Haugh, who is the Games Manager at Spare Time Entertainment located at 333 18th Street SE in Owatonna. “You pretty much have to make a reservation to get on the lanes on those evenings.” At the Faribowl, owner Don Clayton has also experience a similar return of his customers in recent months. “As far as the number of bowlers, we are doing pretty well and almost back to pre-COVID numbers,” Clayton said of his facility that features 16 lanes and is located at 1802 Fourth St. NW in Faribault. At Flaherty’s Northfield Lanes (1700 MN-3 in Northfield), Adam Flaherty, who recently purchased the bowling center previously known as Jesse James Lanes, said, “I have nothing to compare
it to since we didn’t own it last year at this time, but when I do talk with the staff, they say it is busier now than it was when they reopened after COVID.” A legacy in the bowling business, Flaherty’s family has been in the industry for more than 80 years. His great-grandfather opened the bowling center in Arden Hills and his father continues to run those lanes to this day, making it the longest family owned and operated bowling center in the United States. “We made it through World War II and other pandemics, but we’ve never seen something like this where we were forced to shutdown in the 83 years we’ve been running the business. This one is definitely different but we will get through this too.” Flaherty said. The one area in the industry that seems to have taken a slight hit during COVID has been business and corporate functions at the bowling centers. “We have noticed a decrease in those types of parties at our two locations and I have asked other bowling center proprietors and they all say the same thing. To make up for that loss, open bowling is up from previous years.” Flaherty said. “A lot of families felt the brunt of COVID on many levels, and I think one of the silver linings of COVID is that it may have brought families close together again and we are happy to be part of that by hosting those types of connections with bowling.”
In addition to the strong interest in open bowling, participation in leagues has also been on the increase and Flaherty said numbers in the leagues in Northfield are comparable to where they were before the COVID shutdowns of 2020. Local bowling centers have been very diligent about following proper protocols during this time of COVID along with following
TOP: Aaron Arndt faces the pins on lane 14 of Spare Time Entertainment in Owatonna during a practice game. (File photo/southernminn.com)
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