Is Las Vegas becoming the competitive bowling capital of the world?
“All the casinos in town that have bowling centers, there’s a reason: It’s a popular sport, anyone can do it and it’s also a great demographic,” said South Point general manager Ryan Growney. “(Bowlers) like to drink beer, they like to have a good time, they like to gamble — so it’s a demographic that casinos are going to obviously try to reach out to. We just went one step further to reach that next level of tournament bowlers.”
The 90,000 square-foot bowling facility has 60 lanes and a 360-seat viewing area. And that’s just the second level — on the first floor, the South Point also built two new horse showing facilities to expand its equestrian offerings.
Whereas other bowling spots are usually open to the general public — including the South Point’s original bowling area — this one is only for tournaments. Per a 12-year deal with the United States Bowling Congress, Las Vegas Events and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the facility will regularly host major bowling championships.
Future events will be much more extensive than the Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling that will break in the center this weekend. During the USBC open championships, Growney said the center should see hundreds of bowlers pass through multiple times a day, seven days a week for several months.
Las Vegas has already seen how the bowling championships can affect the local economy. In 2009, the Cashman Center held the USBC Open Championship, which brought more than 17,000 teams and an estimated 292,750 travelers. The nongaming economic impact of the championship, held from February through July, was around $120 million.
USBC executive director Chad Murphy, who bowled his first tournament in Las Vegas in 1990, said the city is “exceptional” for bowling.
“There’s a long, storied history here — both amateur and pro alike,” he said. “We’ve kind of gravitated to these areas in some cases just because of the facilities that Vegas offers. Not to mention, it’s a vacation destination for folks, so our consumers like coming here.”
Asked whether the South Point’s facility makes Las Vegas the bowling capital, Murphy said he can’t say yet but “it looks like it’s going to be.”