Bowling enthusiasts in Meridian are hopeful new lanes will be in place somewhere in the Bonita Lakes area by the time the 2019-20 league season rolls around.

A staple in the Meridian community will close its doors next spring as Family Bowl Lanes has been sold to Northcrest Baptist Church. The sale of the building, the only public bowling alley in Lauderdale County, was finalized the last week of August.

MA Copeland, a management consultant for Family Bowl owner Praveen Ravi, said Ravi is looking to build a sports complex in the Bonita Lakes Mall area to host bowling as well as other entertainment opportunities. No plans have been finalized as to the new location, Copeland said.

There has been speculation that the empty JC Penney building at the mall could be a potential site. Andy Weiner, president of mall owner Rock Step Capital, said the company is in discussions with various tenants for the JC Penney’s space, however, he was unable to comment about any possible tenants. 

Church needed more parking 

Northcrest has been interested in buying the property for some time. Wade Phillips, associate pastor at Northcrest, said the short-term interest in the property had to do with expanding the church’s parking capacity.

“On high-attendance Sundays our parking is short to non-existent,” Phillips said. “We’ve doubled in size as far as attendance in the last 10 years, and we think we’ll need more property. We’re landlocked, in that we don’t want to move. We want to stay in the middle of the city.”

The church plans to keep the Family Bowl building intact but hasn’t yet decided what to do with the building.

“We don’t really know our long-term plans, but we’ve talked about some things,” Phillips said. “We’ve been inside, but we haven’t even gotten to have a hard look at it yet. We think we can use it for something, but we’re nowhere close to saying what we’d use it for.”

The original shut-down date for the bowling alley was Dec. 31, Copeland said, but Family Bowl asked for 90 more days, which would keep it open through March. They’re waiting for a reply from the church about whether they can get it extended an additional month, which would allow weekly bowling leagues to go a complete season, Copeland said.

“At this point, it’s scheduled to close March 31,” Copeland said. “We’re hoping to get the month of April added.”

Phillips said the contract stipulates the closure of the bowling alley by Dec. 31, but the church granted Family Bowl a three-month grace period after that to get everything out.

Jason Pierce, who is secretary treasurer for the Wednesday and Thursday night leagues at Family Bowl, said the leagues were informed in early August that a sale was a real possibility, and they originally shortened their leagues to 16 weeks in anticipation of it closing by Dec. 31. The league calendar was extended when they learned of the 90 additional days granted by the church.

“We’re set up to bowl through middle of April, but if we don’t get the extension (through the end of April), we’ll just have to shorten the league,” Pierce said.

Copeland said it’s difficult not to feel nostalgic when thinking of Family Bowl Lanes.

“I hate it,” Copeland said. “I told the owner that it was a landmark. This center opened June 6, 1960, and it’s been almost a continuous operation except for a few months in 1965. To all the bowlers that have bowled, I really appreciate their support. I would have loved to have seen it continue, but (Ravi has) been wanting to move across town and got the opportunity. I hope it’ll go over there and be a nice center and that more people will like it since it’ll be close to the interstate.”

Pierce also said he’s sad to see Family Bowl close.

“The times have changed,” Pierce said. “The owner now wants it to be a family entertainment center with arcades and games. I’m a little saddened. I shot two 300 games in that house, but I can bowl anywhere, so it won’t stop me from bowling. I’ve been bowling since 1998, and I’m starting my 21st year. I’ll just have to do it somewhere else.”

In addition to bowling leagues, Family Bowl also hosts the annual State Games of Mississippi’s bowling competition. State Games of Mississippi Marketing and Development Director Krilecia Gianakos said State Games is still planning to host the competition in Meridian next summer, anticipating Ravi will have a new facility open by then.

“That’s what we’re hopeful of,” Gianakos said. “We don’t like to move events out of Meridian if we don’t have to.”

At the same time, if a new place isn’t opened by next summer, Gianakos said hosting it at the Depot Family Fun Center in Philadelphia is a possibility, though that hasn’t been finalized.