Photo Courtesy of Fusion Alley
For several years, the people of Ottawa have been asking for the return of a bowling alley. Ottawa has a long, rich history of bowling, with multiple venues. However, the most recent bowling alley fell into disrepair and was closed and torn down, replaced by a bank. That was more than 15 years ago. Now, with the help of various investors, the dream has turned into a reality.
“We want to bring people together,” says Dr. Ken Frank, the primary owner and investor of the new lanes. “When I learned that OU had a bowling team, I thought, ‘Really? A team that doesn’t have a place to bowl?’”
The concept was brought up nearly three years ago by bowling head coach Geoff Poston when the bowling program was still being put together. Various locations were explored, from the basement of the student center to the chosen location: 2204 S. Princeton Circle. This is the previous home of DIY Supply, which is moving to a new location.
Photo by Alaina Burris
“We went through a long, nearly one year-long process, looking at five or six locations, and eventually came back to our first choice, after long negotiations with the owner for the lease terms we now will be signing,” Frank says.
The bowling alley will be privately owned, with Ken and Shelly Frank as the primary owners. Four other individuals and families will also have a share in ownership, with all owners being local professionals. It will feature 12 lanes with state of the art bowling programming, as well as a sports bar with a family-friendly atmosphere.
“I have tried to stay focused on doing this for the common good of our community,” Frank says. “Geoff has been extremely supportive and involved in making this come together. Chancellor Kevin Eichner, President Reggies Wenyika, Alumni Director Paul Bean, and several others at OU have been very supportive.”
The bowling alley will feature a paddock area for the OU bowlers, and every member will have a personal cubby for their bowling belongings. Construction of the lanes will begin within the next few weeks. The estimated total cost is between $1.2 and $1.5 million.
“This is going to be not only huge for our teams but the entire university and community,” Poston says. “It’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility that features SPECTO training technology. We will be the first center in Kansas to have it.”
Over the course of several days, the members of the bowling team sent Poston their own unique ideas for what to name the alley. Poston received well over 50 responses of ideas. While none of these names were chosen, a memorable one was selected.
“Many, many names were considered, including possibilities suggested by the OU bowling team,” Frank says. “In the end, the idea ‘Fusion Alley’ came to me at the eleventh hour, and the concept of ‘bringing people together’ along with the futuristic appeal of the name and the way it rolls off the tongue won the day.”
Fusion Alley and PrimeTime Grille is set to have a grand opening in mid-August of 2019.
Photo Courtesy of Fusion Alley