Bowling alleys looking for sub-phase to reopen

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — Bowling alleys all over Western New York have been closed for over three months. The start of the pandemic fell on the worst possible time of year for them. "We lost all of our season end banquets and parties," Manor Lanes II owner Jim Russo said. "And we lost the biggest part of our leagues: the last six to eight weeks." Bowling checks the social distancing box; if a venue uses every other lane, that creates more than 10 feet between parties. League players normally have their own equipment, whereas casual bowlers do not. Local owners, however, have a plan ready to roll out when they reopen. "Our plan was to disinfect it when the customer was done bowling," Allie Brandt Lanes owner Brian Borowski said. "Leave the bowling balls on the racks, we disinfect it, and then put the balls back on the racks for them." But the skid has continued for bowling alleys and there's no end in sight. The owners can't take much more. "We need an answer. We need a date," Russo said. "I've got my whole building torn apart because we've cleaned from top to bottom."