Tenpin bowling gets a MacMakeover......

[bm2]

Courtesy of todays Brisbane Courier Mail, page 25 in the Business section:

"Ten pin bowling's uncool image is set for a major makeover to attract new players to the popular pastime of the 60's.
Macquarie Leisure Trust, owner of the AMF centres, plans to 'awaken the sleeping giant' that is tenpin bowling.
The Macquarie bank-backed trust yesterday boosted the value of its assets which also include the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast and a string of marinas from Rushcutters Bay in Sydney to Cabarita in northern NSW.
It plans an aggressive roll-out of new and refurbished bowling centres in all capital cities, some with bars and restaurants.
After a year of ownership, MLT's bowling business has delivered an impressive result, with the AMF freehold portfolio increasing in value to $42.7million from $34.2 million in the December 31, 2005 half.
After costs, the updated vauluations represent an increase of $7.2million over AMF's book value.
The trust bought all 43 AMF centres - including the lanes at Mt Gravatt and Greenslopes - for $67 million, and later offloaded three non-core sites for $14 million.
The group's bowling strategy aims to target both the traditional markets of league enthusiasts, childrens birthday parties and family events as well as tapping into the corporate market.
The upgraded facilities such as the Sliders Bowling Bar and Grills plus state of the art sound and lighting will hopefully attract new customers."

the rest of the article goes on to talk about Dreamworld.

 

[steve_jones]

Interesting yet singularly unsurprising result given the drive and direction of the bowling group...and an outcome thanks largely to management's complete understanding of the market place they work in.

Of course it won't stop the illinformed and baseless ravings of some on this site - but then again, as I've said before - they simply prove as fact that those with zero knowledge and sizable mental voids make the most noise.

Nice work Roy - by any standard - nice work.

Steve Jones

 

[AdrianS]

Popular pastime of the 60's!!!! hopefully this something that MLE's work will change then we may finally be percieved a little differently. In the 80's with the numbers and media coverage we had we were so damn close to breaking through(this is prob worthy of a what happened topic by itself) I just hope the competitive side of bowling can benefit as well as the business side.

 

[GUS]

"The upgraded facilities such as the Sliders Bowling Bar and Grills plus state of the art sound and lighting will hopefully attract new customers."

The day AMF LAUNCESTON gets a makeover instead of getting everybody elses hand-me-downs will be the day I believe it. Still waiting on the $70K the centre was promised in Dec 04!

"and later offloaded three non-core sites for $14 million."

Maybe AMF Lonny is next?? I will be there with my hand up when that happens!

 

[K-C]

Maybe AMF Lonny is next?? I will be there with my hand up when that happens!

We live in hope Snail!

 

[Tiger]

I wouldn't say bowling's got an "uncool" image, certainly a lot of people I know and talk to from outside of the game don't necessarily see it that way.

However they do see it as an extremely expensive pasttime, that's why they very seldomly go bowling for fun.

3 cars in the carpark at 9pm on Friday night, isn't the best look.

I never understood why centres never took up the idea of putting pokies (as much as I detest them) in the centres.
A lot of the hotels around the city and suburbs here have done that over the years and have reaped some very good income from them, turning their old pubs from dirty old dumps into upmarket sort of places (again, not my cuppa tea, but anyhow) just about all from pokies money.

Maybe something for the future.

 

[KnuckleHead]

I'll belive it when i see it just like other people have said to me so yeh but would be good though.
Chris

 

[Wallbanger1]

This article is very interesting indeed. However i feel the need to state that i wonder if upper management of mle really are considering the league/tournament bowler when making all of these changes. The focus seems to be too much on the dollar gained from social play. all types of bowlers need to be looked after. we are all paying customers.

This is just my humble opinion not a rambling baseless raving as so eloquently mentioned in a previous post to this topic.

 

[Brunswick Tech]

First and foremost, MLT are a business, trading to make a profit, secondly, they are primarily in the entertainment business, I would think they care very little from where they derive their main income from in the bowling business. League and tournament bowling is hardly a lucrative market........social bowling on the other hand, is a booming business.

All bowlers are paying customers, I agree, however one only needs to look at the costs of maintaining and operating a centre which is focussing on deriving it's main income from league bowlers compared to focussing on social bowling as your main source of income...........the difference is substantial.

You only need to read thier press release to see on which customer base they will be focussing their attention on...................the 2 sentences below, say it all

It plans an aggressive roll-out of new and refurbished bowling centres in all capital cities, some with bars and restaurants!

The upgraded facilities such as the Sliders Bowling Bar and Grills plus state of the art sound and lighting will hopefully attract new customers.

NEW CUSTOMERS!! BARS, GRILLS AND RESTAURANTS, SOUND AND LIGHTING!!...........does this sound like a company focussed on league bowling? Do you think this company is focussed on nurturing junior sport?.........Me thinks NOT!!

Neville

 

[Chucky]

although i do agree with what people have said about them not looking for league bowlers interests. but answer this where do league bowlers come from??? Social bowling.. the more social bowlers you get thru the door the more league bowlers you will get.. its a catch 22 you have to get the social bowlers to improve the leagues... Once you start getting the social bowers coming thru in droves as such the league bowlers will start to increase.. with league bowlers starting to increase the sport starts to improve... the more people that bowl competivly th better..

Smart business plan as i see it.. they are looking more into the future then today.. people need to look at that aspect of what they are doing.. Might piss you off now but in 10 years say the league seens could be booming from there changes..

Nothing happens over night.
But it does happen.

 

[Chunkster299]

all well and good to get people in ,with what ? Bars, they sell alcohol ,how many league bowlers do you honestly think they will get from selling them a gut full of beer and bourbon.They will have a good time sure but will they commit to a 30 or 40 week season when its all said and done . Think about it !!

As i said in another thread do we want our sport associated with bars or maybe its just a game or a hobbie ?

Maybe expats from high humidity areas who should stay in touch have all the answers.


humidity softens all grey matter.

 

[Chucky]

whats wrong with bars??

Chermside has a bar and a very nice cafe. They have good sound and lighting. just like these people are saying there gonna do, does that mean chermside is a dead beat no league centre.

Is chermside full of people gut full of acholol??? NO

Monday night from 7 its full of leagues. all 26 lanes. wednesday night from 6:30 its full of leagues. thursday night half the centre is full of leagues. Saturday morning the centre is full of kids learn to bowl league. And where have most of these people come from?? Social bowlers.

Chermside has a thriving league environment. And there is nothing wrong with a BAR, Look at the world we live in Its a changing society. you need to change with the world around you.. You cant live in yesterday. 60 years ago was that 60 years ago... as a living end song goes "the past is in our heads, the futures in our hands" people want an instant solution. it aint going to happen.. This is a good move by MLE to get people back into bowling. Be thankfull that some one is showing an interest about fixing something.. instead of what every one else does, bitch about it. cause thats so easy to do.

 

[blackwidow]

MLE bought the Amf chain in Australia to make money...this is something I think everyone will agree on. Yes they have a large focus on social play, and renovating the centres and improving the look overall of Ten Pin Bowling...is that so wrong. League bowlers don't just appear from nowhere, they almost all come from social bowlers to start with, people who come into the centre to have a good time. Parents who bring their children in to the centres to have a good time, either through a birthday party or a social outing, are more apt to bring them back time and time again if its a nice modern centre with up to date facilities.
It is getting new people through the doors all the time that is going to improve the amount of league play we have, once they are in the door then we have the opportunity to showcase our sport as a sport. We can't do that if nobody is in the centres we can't do that if they decide that the movies or a nightclub or a day at the beach is a better option.
I don't know about the other states but in Queensland the extreme nights are only Friday and Saturday Nights and they don't start until around 7.30pm -8.00pm. I would hardly say that that leaves no time for league play, the centre that I am in has a 36 member singles league on a Friday night before the lights go out.
I don't think most people realize ( and I know I will get hammered for saying this) how much time and effort is actually put into league recruiting and maintenance in Amf centres, how many meetings and how much planning is done in regards to League...it is still considered to be the single most important aspect of the business, reporting on league recruiting and following up on league drop out is something that is done daily. Instead of always saying that Amf does nothing for the sport have a look at the big picture, because yes alot of the centres around today are stuck in a timewarp, they are old they are outdated and they are very unappealing, which gives our sport the look of being "uncool". Let MLE through Amf update the centres let them breath new life into Bowling as a pastime, get people into the centres so then we can show people its a wonderful and highly competitive sport it really is.

 

[Chucky]

blackwidow i totally agree. 100% correct.

 

[westy]

I have no problem with bars cafes and restaurants. As mentioned earlier it is a catch 22 situation (to a degree). To get more league bowlers you need people to experience bowling in some form. But there is something very sadly missing.

Kids play aussie rules with their mates and dream of becoming AFL players.
What do the kids who bowl socially dream of becoming???

We have no hero's outside the industry. Ask one person who just bowls for fun to name one bowler on the tournament scene, Australia or elsewhere.

I don't want to whinge. I have started my own (non-related) company and when I am making a decent income, I will pour whatever I can into the competitive side of bowling.

Don't just complain. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Bowling is not dead. Just dorment. With action it can be awakened.