Bowling, Pit Style – Nascar-licensed bowling centers
Terry Lefton
Nascar and bowling lock in mutual demos Tired of discussing the comparable abilities of Dale Earnhardt versus Ricky Crawford, Bob and Joe, two lifelong Nascar fans, walked away from the cacophony that’s always a byproduct of the weekly competition, heading toward the concession stand to buy a Bud, the sport’s official beer. Underneath a giant Nascar banner and next to a life-sized standup of driver Terry Labonte, the pair moved on to another discourse, this one centering on the sport’s different venues. The lanes are a whole lot quicker in the newer places,” said Bob, “but they get crowded a lot sooner, depending on how new the machinery is.” “I don’t care what kind of equipment you have,” spat Joe. “It all depends on how you start. There’s no making up for a bad start.” To illustrate his point, Bob walked back past the spectators, picked up a ball and rolled a strike. Yes, the two men were discussing bowling, Nascar style. The unmatched affinity of Nascar fans and their almost exact demographic match with bowlers have made Nascar-licensed bowling leagues an unqualified success. At a time when bowling participation is up (American Sports Data has it the top participatory sport in America with 53 million bowling at least a game last year, a 2.1% annual increase), long-staple league bowling has diminished. Americans are reluctant to commit themselves to the 30 or more week obligation a bowling league regiment entails. Offering high-ticket Nascar premiums as a reward to those completing a league schedule has helped revive league play. Now moving into its third season, Nascar leagues will be rolling this year at 2,000 bowling centers (never call them alleys when you are around those in the $10 billion bowling industry). “I’ve got 14 Nascar leagues going and 70% of those people are new bowlers,” said Randy Little, who owns the three Showplace Lanes centers in and around Dallas. “We had a Nascar track open near here recently and this has really let us take advantage of that. The Nascar fan and the bowler are basically just the same person” While the first-year offer was a $150 retail Nascar driver jacket (bowling proprietors get them for around $95) subsequent offers have included driver-identified bowling balls and bags, and die cast Nascar cars sealed inside a ball with a window. Out of the $10 or so each league bowler pays per week, bowling centers “award” league bowlers the Nascar merchandise at cost, but profit from the shoes, snacks and beer league bowlers consume with the speed of a Daytona 500 winner. “The best thing is,” chuckled Little, “these guys drink a lot of beer while they are here.” No surprise then, that Bud became title sponsor of the league after its first year. The success of Nascar bowling allowed the Odyssey Group, an Atlanta promotion agency that developed the idea, and its new parent, sports catalog powerhouse Genesis Direct, to sell $2 million in incremental Nascar licensed merchandise in the league’s first year, $3.5 million last year and a projected $5 million this year. “It’s really a triumph of the power of affinity,” said John Harbuck, vp-sales at Odyssey. “Nascar is more lifestyle oriented in its appeal than most people realize and this gave them a chance to extend their lifestyle and affinity to bowling centers. It became their country club.” Given the success, it should be no surprise that similar leagues using other licensed properties are in the works. Coming to a bowling center near you soon: a World Championship Wrestling bowling league with premiums including “wrassler” identified bowling balls from the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage, a collegiate league offering the imprimatur of more than 40 NCAA schools via a license from Collegiate Licensing Company and a Nascar Junior league for kids. “It’s been a way to put a whole new face on bowling leagues,” said Steve Ryan, president of Strike Ten, the central marketing organization that supports most of the country’s bowling proprietors. And obviously, that is something the industry has been looking for.”
COPYRIGHT 1998 BPI Communications, Inc.
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