By Diane M. Calabrese

Bowling alleys may have started out smoky and mostly for adults, but not anymore. They’ve turned into a family affair. Bowling, which got its start in the Middle Ages, made its way to the United States from Europe. But while bowling may have taken a while to get to the States, its transition from an adult game to a family activity was relatively quick.

From arcades to laser tags, anyone in the family can usually find something that brings them together.

Brunswick Bowling & Billiards is helping the game transition to its next phase by building complexes that offer something for everyone. “Interest in family entertainment centers has been growing over the years,” says Tony Koran, Project Manager for Parsons Electric. “The concept is a good one because it enables a family to plan an entire afternoon or evening of fun — a recreational activity, a meal, or just talking — all in one place.”

Family-friendly venues are giving a boost to the start of the 21st century. From arcades to laser tags, the adult, the teen, the tween, and the child can usually find something that brings them together. Mutual activity and mutual interest is the basic idea.

Everything about the family-friendly Brunswick Zone XL venue is designed to bring people closer.

What’s in the smoke-free Brunswick Zone XL? Bowling, music videos, karaoke, sports lounges, billiards, laser tag, and games for all ages. “Brunswick Zone XLs are great places to gather,” says Larry Costakis, Director of Construction for Brunswick, a company with a reach that extends to Canada and Europe and already encompasses 109 entertainment centers in three formats.

Everything about the family-friendly venue is designed to bring people closer. Costakis says his firm’s facilities appeal to people of all ages and walks of life because of the unique programs and leagues for families, singles, and companies. (As appropriate, bars serve beverages as a complement to meals and during adult functions).

Healthy Competition

“Brunswick Zone is building in some of the fastest-growing communities in the nation,” Costakis says. Programs encourage alliances and healthy competition as family members participate in recreational and mind-challenging activities. “Parents today are very passionate about finding entertainment venues they can enjoy with their children that offer a fun, safe environment.”

The centers feature the Brunswick Vector® Scoring System, which eliminates manual computation.

It all fits together well with a national trend in bowling. “The significant increase in the number of high school and college bowling programs registers in many ways,” Costakis says. “Bowling is the fastest growing high school sport and has more than 9 million bowlers between the ages of 12 and 17. Colleges and universities have also recognized bowling as a women’s NCAA sport.”

The Blaine, Minnesota, indoor entertainment facility spans 56,000 square feet.

The centers make it easy on bowlers by featuring the Brunswick Vector® Scoring System, which eliminates manual computation. “It is a customer-friendly, easy-to-use scoring system featuring 36-inch overhead monitors, exciting graphics, animations, score sheets and games,” Costakis says.

Minnesota Center

Brunswick features varied offerings at a new family-centered venue in Blaine, Minnesota. The indoor entertainment facility spans 56,000 square feet and has a little bit of everything.

The Blaine project took just four months to complete. It began in late October 2006 and was ready for the move in of owner’s equipment by February, which kept it on target for a May 2007 opening. Nature cooperated in the early stages of construction. “We had a very nice fall — all the external work was done by Christmas,” says Tony Koran, Project Manager for Parsons Electric.

Koran brought experience from other gaming and recreational venues to the project, and he and his team were able to keep pace with the demanding schedule. The Parsons Electric portfolio includes entertainment, sports, and gaming projects of just about every sort and size.

For his part, Koran was most intrigued by the Cosmic Bowling^®. Installing the lighting for the futuristic, glow-in-the-dark experience meant synchronizing audio and lighting systems. “There are three different lighting systems which contribute to two different moods,” Koran says.

The facility in Blaine is the second of its kind on which Koran has worked. He also assis-
ted on a Brunswick Zone project in Gilbert, Arizona, where Marlin Kaelberer, Division Manager for Parsons Electric, Phoenix, Arizona, had primary responsibility.

The vision behind a family-centered setting like the Brunswick Zone is interesting and telling, “To see the effort that goes into the design and construction of the center to attract people of all ages and have a layout to handle it all safely,” Kaelberer says. “Bowling alleys in the past have been smoky, dark, and mostly for people of legal drinking age. The new family-friendly centers have big game rooms, are well-lit, have party rooms for birthdays, and have a higher level of sophistication.”