Bowlmor lanes have come along way since owning just the single centre back in 1997. Between 1997 - 2012 Bowlmor grew to six 'high-end' centres with DJ booths, sports bars, video arcades, miniature golf, bocce, table shuffleboard, ping pong tables, air hockey, billiards and full service restaurants! Then in 2013 they made the bold move of purchasing the much larger AMF Bowling Worldwide (operator of the AMF Bowling Centers in the US and Mexico) taking their centre count up to 250! Then in a surprise statement issued on July 17, 2014, the company announced that it had agreed to acquire all 85 centers of Brunswick Bowling & Billiard for a reported $270 million. This takes their centre count up to 335! In a statement to the bowling fraternity who were worried what this meant to league bowling group CEO Tom Shannon said "We plan to increase the league bowling business, not shrink it," citing AMF's "large customer base" in league activity for declaring that its league bowling was "very safe." He said his company has "protected and defended 99% of (its) night-time leagues" and sees its acquisition of the Brunswick centers as "furthering (its) commitment to league play." It all sounds very exciting and it's great to see some serious investment being made into our awesome sport. We'll have to see how things go, but for now stay tuned for more updates as and when they happen.
