Bowlero possibly acquiring PBA

[mc_runner]

Saw this posted elsewhere.

https://www.11thframe.com/news/article/11603/Is-a-Bowlero-Corp-acquisition-of-PBA-in-the-works

Rumors at this point, but looking and sounding more and more possible. With the increased exposure on FOX and some of the events they've been putting on - this could really be a tossup over being good/bad for the sport. Thoughts?

[vdubtx]

I have been happy with the direction that the PBA was going in and the great exposure it has gotten with FOX Sports. I don't think the Bowlero acquisition of PBA will be a good thing. The way Bowlero/AMF runs their centers is certainly not geared towards the tried and true league bowlers. They would rather have open bowlers paying $5-6 per game vs. a league that fills the house and spends a ton at the bar.

[Ryster]

The whole thing with houses pushing out leagues in favor of open bowlers has never made sense to me. At the privately owned center where I bowl, the lineage charged to the leagues is the same per game rate as charged to open bowlers. Leagues do not get a discount. So they aren't really losing anything, plus there are nights where the entire house is full with league bowlers from 6:30PM-9:30PM. They are basically getting full rates for a full 48-lane house at least 4 nights per week during the fall. Not to mention the volume of alcohol being sold by the bar. It is a win for the house.

Hopefully if Bowlero acquires the PBA it would mean a modest bump up in prize money for the bowlers. On paper, having the largest bowling center operator in the world also own the Professional Bowling Association seems like a perfect addition to their business portfolio.

[ALazySavage]

I would like to be positive about this, but I personally haven't seen any real positives with the influx of Bowlero and don't see how them acquiring the PBA could really be a positive. Maybe they see a small bump in prize money, but they are definitely not going to make it a passion project so who knows if that is a long term situation, a short term situation, or a pipe dream in general.

[JasonNJ]

When Bowlero first took over Brunswick Centers and AMF, they remodeled a bunch of centers into basically Night Clubs and pushed out a lot of leagues. But the last 2 years, they seem to be pushing leagues a little more and they started that Bowlero Elite series where you have to be in a league to be able to compete. Last year that guy from Illinois won 270k and this year's tournament is 100k first place prize. So I'm hopeful they finally realize leagues are a huge revenue stream and they continue pushing leagues and having the Elite Series every year.

[mc_runner]

Sounds like it's a done deal

[Phonetek]

Yep it seems it's official. Question is, what does this mean? Is this a good or bad thing at this point? This is almost like Microsoft buying Apple. I'm hoping this will be a positive not the beginning of the end.

[ALazySavage]

Obviously this is really going to come down to cash flow - how much they can help the situation for the professional bowlers and if they can increase the value of the PBA. I know in a previous post I called out that they will not make this a passion project - but in all honesty that may be a good thing. PBA needs more exposure and more money in the pipeline and that will be the goal most likely.

[MajorPhoenix]

As long as PBA stays on TV, then it should stay as at least a net positive. However, if Bowlero steps up and runs a strong marketing campaign for bowling, then it could be a revolution for the sport.


But I guess if they don't push, it could go the way of the dodo.

[ALazySavage]

Forgot to mention the Tom Shannon quote as a word of caution:

"Some cited a Bloomberg TV interview in which CEO Tom Shannon said, 'I don’t think anyone takes bowling seriously – why would you?'" - This is on the Bowlmor Wikipedia page