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Star Light, Ball Bright — Greeley's Cosmic Bowling |
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Written by Dan England
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Thursday, 13 March 2008 |
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The place glowed with a blue hue as white, flashing lights, thin as garden snakes but long like earthworms, cut through the hazy, white smoke blowing in from the corner.
Sean Paul bumped over the speakers. Beer flowed like a river. It was Saturday night, and the feeling was right.
“Whoo-hoo! Strike!” a voice chirped a few spots down.
Strike?
This was not a night club. And if you thought it was, you didn’t see the thin purple carpet with planets and stars that glowed under the black light and looked like a third-grader’s bed sheet. Or the unmistakable sound of a heavy ball (fluorescent green or pink that glowed in the blue light, but a ball nonetheless) rolling down waxed wood and into pins or crashing into a metal gutter. Or the fact that everyone seemed to be eating cheese fries and wearing quaint but unfashionable shoes.
This is Cosmic Bowling at Classic Lanes bowling center, 2454 8th Ave. in Greeley. And from the looks of things, any nightclub in Greeley would kill for this crowd.
It’s so popular — despite the fact that every lane was packed a couple weeks ago, managers were shaking their heads, saying they’ve had much bigger crowds on Saturday nights — that Classic Lanes spent $15,000 to update its system last summer.
“Some systems put mine to shame,” said Matt Fickes, who owns the place with his father, Ed. “But ours is pretty darn nice compared to some.”
Cosmic Bowling isn’t that new of a concept. The Fickes first brought it to Classic Lanes in 2001. But it’s certainly helped revitalize an industry that was struggling to get the so-called “open play” customers (people who just show up anxious to bowl) as leagues were thinning out.
Most bowling centers across the country have turned to it by now, and although, as Fickes mentioned, the packages differ, Classic Lanes follows the general concept, including some black lighting, glow-in-the-dark balls and pins, fog and loud music.
Norma Sperl of Greeley spent her days bowling in a small town in South Dakota. When she started, rubber tubes filled with air helped separate the lanes and workers had to set up the pins when she knocked them all down (as she did with increasing frequency, even that night).
She was there with her Greeley grandchildren, Emily, 21 and Andrew, 19, and her son, Brett and daughter-in-law Julie. The Sperls were there to bowl and kill a little time as a family, as they do all the time.
“I love it,” Norma said about all the fancy stuff as Pink Floyd blasted over the speakers.
Bowling alleys have changed, as Norma knows. She thought it was neat when electronic screens kept their score for them instead of having to use those greased pencils and a hot, white light. But Andrew grew up bowling with blue lights, smoke and flashing lights.
“I don’t think I’ve ever bowled without the cosmic stuff,” Andrew said. “I really like it.”
The crowd was mixed on this night, as it usually is, Fickes said — from older folks to college girls showing a bit of cleavage (and college guys ogling at it) to high school students to people such as Tristan Salazar, who was there with her two young children and Hank Johnson of La Salle. Talon, 3, loves bowling and used a ramp provided by Classic Lanes to send his ball down the lane. Alyssa, 10 months, was happy munching on a french fry.
Neither one of the kids knew the Pink Floyd playing over the loud speakers, but they did seem to like the cool lights.
“It’s really cool,” Salazar said. “This is a nice family outing.”
Wednesday nights are usually a college crowd, and some of the day Cosmic Bowling times bring out the younger kids and birthday parties, but Friday and Saturday nights are always mixed, Fickes said.
Julian Vigil brought his three kids, Roy Garza, 14, Anthony Garza, 12 and Savannah Vigil, 9, out for a Saturday night together.
“I don’t know of another place where I can have a beer and we can all have a good time together,” Vigil said.
Roy nodded his head.
“I still think bowling is fun,” he said. “But this makes it a lot funner.”
Cosmic Bowling at the Classic Lanes Bowling Center in Greeley is available at the following times:
• Wednesday: 10 p.m.-midnight
• Friday: 2-4 p.m. & 11 p.m.-1 a.m.
• Saturday: 1-3 p.m., 8-10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
• Sunday : 4-6 p.m.
• Occasionally some sessions are not available because of tournaments, so call to check first.
• The cost is $10-$12 depending on the session and includes two hours of bowling and shoe rental.
• Birthday parties, office parties and other events are also available. Call 353.4275 for more information.
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