Bowl Expo Recap
Operators Eye Growth by Improving Existing Centers
by Howard McAuliffe, Partner, Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Over the last 15 years, Bowl Expo has been one of the biggest drivers of the growth of our company, as well as the FEC industry as a whole. Bowling, combined with arcades, FEC-style attractions, and food and beverage, has been a winning combination. Converting traditional bowling alleys to bowling entertainment centers has worked so well that traditional FECs, movie theaters, resorts, and even bars have been adding bowling to their locations. The success of duckpin bowling has opened even more opportunities for bowling to flourish, as it takes significantly less space.
While the traffic at this year’s show was certainly lower than in the past, due to the dates coinciding with the 4th of July holiday week, the show was still a good one. We had over 100 people at our arcade education session, which was held on Thursday, the day after the trade show ended. The overarching themes we noticed at the show were:
1) The bowling business is strong, though down somewhat year over year.
2) Bowling proprietors are focusing on improving their existing operations.
3) New center construction has slowed, especially ground-up builds.
We saw many past clients at the show, including multi-location owners. They were all excited about the bowling business and looking for ways to improve their centers, but many reported lower revenues than last year. We track over 100 arcades in our database and have seen a 3% reduction in business overall so far this year.
There are three significant causes for this: households are cutting back on spending; tariffs are raising costs and creating uncertainty as they fluctuate sometimes by the day; and competition has been increasing as new out-of-home entertainment concepts open.
As a result, we’ve shifted the focus of our consulting business to helping operators improve their existing locations. And, I’m happy to report that we’ve had significant success. The locations we actively work with are seeing average sales improvements of about 10% this year over 2024. Operators who focus on improving their businesses, reinvest while others are pulling back, and, overall, work towards a better future will weather any storms that may come their way. Many of those looking to improve were at the show.
We polled the audience at our arcade education session and nearly 100% of the attendees were bowling operators with an existing arcade. Here they were, the afternoon after the trade show closed, to learn how to improve. This focus on improving was common. Our friends at TrainerTainment said their booth was busy with proprietors looking to improve their training, group and party sales, and overall operations.
One of my favorite things about the bowling business is the sense of community. I’ve found that bowling proprietors share with each other through the spirit of a shared future, understanding that it’s good for everyone if bowling is strong and facilities are doing well. The most valuable and fun part of the show is the networking, learning from each other over meals, drinks and conversations in the aisles. As a person interested in becoming a bowling proprietor, I was particularly impressed with the willingness of our friends to help.
Growth in BECs?
During past Bowl Expos, we would meet with many customers looking to build new bowling entertainment centers. This year, there were noticeably fewer of this type of attendee. While not ruling out building new centers in the future, the existing bowling chains I spoke with have temporarily paused new construction.
Instead of investing in new construction, some may be looking for new opportunities such as what might be possible following the bankruptcy of Pinstripes. That chain’s business model was unique, focusing on events and food and beverage, two challenging segments with significantly lower margins than bowling or arcades. While Pinstripes did have bowling, it brought in a lower percentage of the revenue than a typical bowling center, and they also didn’t have arcades. It will be interesting to see if other proprietors take over Pinstripes locations and change the model to one that may be more profitable.
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Ultimately, this year’s Bowl Expo message was clear: the path to growth now runs directly through the doors of existing centers. While economic headwinds and a pause in new construction might seem daunting, the industry’s most engaged operators view this as a time for strategic action, not retreat. The vibrant exchange of ideas and the packed educational sessions proved that proprietors wisely focus on refining operations, enhancing the guest experience and strengthening their community ties. This collective pivot towards reinvestment and operational excellence isn’t just a response to a challenging market. It’s a forward-thinking strategy that will build a more resilient and profitable foundation for the years to come.
Howard McAuliffe loves to imagine and implement new products, business models, and ideas, and is CEO and president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group Inc. He’s an industry veteran who got his start in the business when he was just 16 and has 20 years of expertise in product development, as well as FEC and route operations. Howard’s wife Reem and young son Sami are the center of life outside of work. When he’s not working, Howard can be found enjoying the outdoors, hiking, fishing and mountaineering. Traveling anywhere new or to old favorites like the American West is a passion. Readers can visit www.grouppinnacle.com for more information or contact Howard at [email protected], he welcomes positive as well as constructive feedback and counterpoints.