Work began to potentially reopen the Eastway bowling alley at the start of the spring semester. The Eastway bowling alley is located underneath the Eastway Dining Hall to the left of the mailroom.
The space was closed in the summer of 2019 for renovations and due to low traffic. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the renovations were delayed indefinitely and the bowling alley was used as storage.
A petition in October 2023 re-sparked student interest in the space, prompting conversations among university staff on what to do with the bowling alley. In February, the furniture being stored there was removed as the first sign of things moving forward.
Jill Jenkins, Senior Executive Director of University Housing and Culinary Services, led a tour of the bowling alley for members of Kent Interhall Council in March. She spoke about the state of the bowling alley and what to look forward to in its future.
“Right now, we’re having conversations about what investment it would take to open the doors,” Jenkins said. “If we just use it in as-is condition, what it would cost to get shoes and balls and other things to make it functional.”
Jenkins commented on how dated things seemed inside the bowling alley. Despite being closed, renovations were never actually completed, and all of the machinery, furniture and decorations all appear extremely dated.
“It looks exactly the same as it did when it originally opened,” she said. “Everything works, that is something we went in unknowingly, because it hasn’t been operated in five years. There’s a cost for if we wanted to add upgrades to the space, so it would be a menu of options that we could explore.”
One of the key reasons the bowling alley was originally closed in 2019 was its failure to turn a profit. Jenkins said there would likely be a price increase to combat any lost revenue.
“The big question that we’re trying to figure out is if we open it, certain operating hours and we have to pay the folks to operate it,” she said. “So some ways we can offset that is to charge more than they charged back then for bowling. I think they only charged $2.00 a game, so that would be an easy increase.”
Among the questions about cost, Jenkins said there are so many other details to work out. She mentioned things like the hours they would run the bowling alley and whether or not students would support the space long-term.
“We would have to do some research about what bowling costs and then think about a price point for that,” Jenkins said. “It wouldn’t be able to operate for free and at least not at this time because of the way the university budgets are.”
Jenkins also discussed the logistics of staffing the bowling alley. It would most likely be staffed by students working in housing or Student Recreation and Wellness Services. Jenkins said that currently, it’s too early to have those details ironed out.
The space the bowling alley occupies is also larger than what is needed for bowling. In the abandoned room is also space that once housed pool tables and arcade machines. It is likely that a reopened bowling alley would also have those amenities restored to make the space more attractive to students.
“I would think probably pool tables or video games in that space. The other thing we’d have to figure out is where we would have a counter for shoes and payment.” Jenkins said.
Students can expect an update on how the university will go forward with the bowling alley by the end of the spring semester, Jenkins said. She spoke about potential holdups and reservations.
“There’s mixed opinions about it because of how it operated in the past and because of our staff resources to be able to open it. It’s possible that it won’t take off, but there’s certainly a number of folks who would like to see it take off,” she said.
Jenkins also stated that there were chances of renovations not going forward at all, with how early the university was into planning. Despite this, she said that they always value student’s opinions.
“Student voice matters in this conversation, and so if students are interested in seeing it, let us know. Let housing know or let the rec center know or and others at the university,” Jenkins said.
Andrew Bowie is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
