League bowling returns

BARSTOW • Albert Toro is one of the local league bowlers whose glad that the sweet sound of crashing pins has returned to Barstow.

After an eight month-hiatus following the abrupt closure of former Paradise Lanes Family Recreation Center, league bowlers are competing again at Revolutions Entertainment Center, the revamped bowling venue that’s also expanding into an arcade and sports bar and grill.

When Paradise Lanes closed, most league bowlers — approximately 175 bowlers between the men’s, women’s and mixed leagues — simply shelved their shoes and bowling balls, according to Toro.

“We stopped bowling,” he said.

Barstow resident Bill Burns said his team was at a loss. “A lot of us were like, ‘What are we going to do?’”

The closure prompted some bowlers, like members of the senior league, to go to alleys in Victorville, said Alex Ross, Revolutions marketing manager. According to Toro, the local leagues had lost about 30 bowlers over the past few years to Victorville leagues because bowlers were unhappy with machines breaking down.

“Things had just deteriorated over time,” Toro said.

But things have turned around since word got out that a new group was taking over the venue, said Burns, who is also president of the Barstow men’s and women’s leagues.

“They did a lot of work just to get the lanes and machines open,” he said. “I was pretty excited about it.”

Burns noted that the approach, the hardwood floor leading up to the lane, has been replaced and the low ceiling ripped out to expose a newly finished elevated ceiling with exposed beams.

Circumstances fell apart at the end of last season when Paradise Lanes suddenly shut its doors two months before the bowling season ended, said Burns noting that Barstow teams regularly advance to state and national competitions. The youth league, which was already dwindling and down to 10 bowlers, dissolved after the old venue closed, Toro said. He’s hoping, however, to get it restarted once Revolutions opens to the general public.

Revolutions has slated its grand opening for Dec. 11, when the rest of the venue — the arcade, sports bar and grill, and banquet rooms — will be up and running, according to Darrell Minter, one of the new owners of Revolutions.

For lifelong bowler Shirley Holcroft, a member of Monday night’s mixed bowling league, which draws about 100 people, having a bowling alley back in town is important.

“It means a lot because we love to bowl and we want to bowl here in Barstow — and they’re going to have more than just bowling,” she said. “It’s something for the whole family to be able to go in there and enjoy.”

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(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com