Key Steps You Need to Know When Opening a Bowling Alley
If you want to open a successful bowling alley, from initial setup to daily operations, what should you pay attention to in each stage? Let's now deeply analyze the core elements of opening a bowling alley to help you reasonably plan bowling alleys and start your entrepreneurial journey.
1. Strategic Planning
(I) Accurate Site Selection
The ideal location should have a high flow of people and convenient transportation. For example, consider areas near shopping malls, commercial complexes, or transportation hubs (subway stations, bus terminals). It is convenient for customers to come and consume.
At the same time, you should consider the surrounding competitive environment and try to avoid areas where there are already bowling alleys or where the alleys are densely populated. In addition, you should consider the consumption level of the area. In areas where high-spending people gather, customers are more willing to pay for a high-quality bowling experience.
(II) Reasonable Determination of Scale
Base your alley’s size on local population density and projected daily visitors. If the area has a large permanent population and there are few entertainment facilities around, then you can consider building a medium-to-large bowling alley, such as equipping 12-24 lanes to meet the needs of a large number of customers; if the area has a limited permanent population and there are already a certain number of leisure and entertainment venues around, a small bowling alley may be more suitable, such as setting up 6-10 lanes, which can control costs and ensure operational efficiency. Thorough market research ensures lane quantity aligns with long-term viability.
2. Space Design
(I) Lane Area
As the core area, lanes directly impact the customer experience and whether they are willing to stay longer. The layout of the lanes should be reasonable to ensure that there is enough space between lanes to avoid customers interfering with each other.
The bowling lane（from the foul line to the headpin） is about 1800cm long and 106cm wide. If the length includes the size of the machine, the maintenance channel area, and the approach area, and the width includes the gutters, each group of lanes has a total length of about 26.36 meters and a width of 1.52 meters.
The material and surface treatment of the lane are also crucial. High-quality lane materials can ensure the smooth rolling of the bowling balls and provide an accurate experience. Currently, the string bowling alley generally uses synthetic lanes. As one of the leading bowling alley equipment manufacturer, we can help you know more about them, and you can further learn in the lane section on our company's official website.
At the same time, the lighting design of the lane area should be soft and bright. The light should not be too strong to affect the customer's vision, nor too dim to cause bowling errors.
The specific layout and decoration design need to be discussed with your architect and designer to ensure reasonable arrangements, such as how to arrange disabled access and how to make customers have a full view of the alley as soon as they enter the venue, and be attracted by the atmosphere of the bowling alley.
(II) Service Area
The service area is an area that provides services and rest for customers. Comfortable rest seats, a snack bar, and a retail section should be set up here.
Rest seats should be made of soft and comfortable materials so that customers can relax for breaks. The snack bar can provide simple drinks and snacks; The retail section sells bowling gear, souvenirs, and popular snacks.
In addition, the service area must be equipped with clean restrooms and locker rooms with ample storage.
(III) Technical Area
This "backstage" area houses critical equipment such as the pinsetter. Position it for easy maintenance access, with soundproofing and dust control to minimize noise and protect machinery.
3. Essential Equipment
Essential equipment is the material basis for the normal operation of the bowling alley.
Bowling Balls: Stock varied weights/materials for all ages/skill levels.
Shoes: Maintain a range of rental sizes with professional bowling shoe cleaners.
Accessories: Install sturdy ball racks, some bowling-related teaching books or videos.
4. Professional Support
During the process of opening a bowling alley, if you need professional guidance and support, our company, as a global full-industry-chain bowling alley supplier, will help you throughout the process. In the early planning stage, our experts will give scientific and reasonable suggestions based on the site drawings you provide and the actual situation to ensure maximum space utilization.
In the product installation stage, our experienced installers will work with you and your employees to ensure that each device can be accurately installed and run stably according to the actual layout and needs of the alley.
After the installation is completed, we will also provide you and your employees with comprehensive training, including equipment operation, maintenance, and handling of common faults, so that you don't have to worry about technical problems and can devote yourself to the operation and management of the alley.
Opening a bowling alley faces many challenges, but as long as you do a good job of scientific planning, reasonable space design, and rely on the escort service of a professional team, you can seize the market opportunity, create a popular bowling alley, and achieve good economic and social benefits.
