Revamped center offers bowling, family fun

  • Published
  • By Dean Siemon
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Steve Fontana is entering his eighth-year as a bowling center staff member on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but the last year was spent at Bowl Arena Lanes on Lewis Main.

That's because McChord Field's Sounders Lanes was closed for renovations since November 2013. Now Fontana -- excited as ever -- is one of the staff members putting the final touches on the remodeled center for the scheduled grand reopening Saturday at 10 a.m.

"I've got bells on coming to work," Fontana said.

Part of the project included the removal of eight lanes leaving 12 total lanes to bowl. The space left from those eight lanes was replaced with a new family fun center that includes an indoor playground along with television screens for everything from cartoons to sporting events.

Another new addition is a laser maze where anyone, at least five years old, can traverse through a laser grid set to different difficulty settings. Families, and anyone else, can watch the progress through the maze on a 42-inch television screen hanging just above the entrance.

With less lanes to bowl, Fontana said he does expect there could be longer waiting times to bowl during the busy weekends.

"We're going to directly want to market (Sounders Lanes) to the children, where parents can bring their kids during the day, have lunch and have a kids' fun day with mom and/or dad," Fontana said.

Fontana said the Sounders Lanes offers a different experience from what it used to be. He compared the new center to how Brunswick Bowling establishes family entertainment centers that includes bowling, arcades, snack shop and party packages for families to reserve birthday parties and special occasions.

The Sounders Lanes renovation is one of many projects that JBLM's Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is doing to update facilities for service members. Future projects include an expanded outdoor patio and kitchen at Whispering Firs Golf Course and updates at the Club at McChord Field.

"We want to make sure we're doing the right things for both sides and not just pumping new things into the (Army) side," said Roger Disbrow, chief of JBLM's Business Operations Division.

There will be soft opening for the Friday night league that had to move from Sounders Lanes to other nearby bowling centers in Tacoma and Bowl Arena Lanes.

Fontana also said he plans on bringing back the annual Northwest Military Masters Bowling Tournament in April. The event was canceled in 2014 because of the renovations.

Despite the reduced number of lanes, Fontana said it will still feel like home to the usual customers once they start rolling the ball toward the pins.

"The lanes are still 60 feet long," Fontana said. "The bowling area is just condensed in a smaller area."