COLUMBUS, Ohio — Julie Wells has worked in the bowling industry for decades and is the general manager at Columbus Square Bowling Palace.
“What this is, is capturing more of the younger [crowd] and families who want a little bit different take on the game of bowling,” Wells said.
Recently she retrofitted her 64-lane center, the largest in Ohio, to an interactive and immersive experience for customers called HyperBowling.
“HyperBowling basically gets you immersed in a video game. So the younger ones understand, level one, level two. Five throws for each of you and the game is over. So the attention span is addressed also,” Wells said.
Wells said these days, for your recreational dollar, there are just more things to do.
She hopes HyperBowling will be top of mind for family entertainment. It does not replace traditional bowling, just augments it.
Wells said ownership has reinvested $1.6 million for software, lights and monitor upgrades in the 39-year-old facility.
“It is time to do the reinvesting that we need to—to stay current, up to date. And it has been very well received thus far. As pretty as all this is, when our traditional leagues and tournaments come in, all these lights can be turned off,” Wells said.
An avid bowler, Tim Skinner, tried out the new craze for the first time.
“I like this. I think it’s neat. I like that they switch the colors from side to side, so it’s not always on the same side. I think this will attract some people for sure,” Skinner said.
Wells, who has bowled 300 points in several games in her lifetime, believes the user-friendly HyperBowling is here to stay.
“Each pin that you knock down is worth 100, so if you get a strike, three times 1,000 is 3,000 points, so that’s the most you can get on any toss at this point,” Wells said.
She admits even with the recent changes, she’s having as much fun in the industry as when she first started. She looks forward to seeing people of all ages embracing the futuristic technology.
“It’s easy enough that anybody can do it. And it’s tough enough that you’ll need practice to get good at it. So it has a little bit of everything,” Wells said.
