Bowling tournament with business as prize takes new twist
BISMARCK, N.D. - A small town bowling alley owner who wanted to give away his business to the winner of a summer tournament says he's had worldwide interest, but only 11 people who wanted to come to North Dakota to bowl for it.
Now he has a new plan, involving help from other bowling alley managers around the United States.
Darin Bail of Velva got international media coverage and almost 10,000 hits on http://www.starcitylanes.com in a two-week span after he announced plans for a tournament to give away his business. He figured he could get at least the 600 entrants, the number he said he needed to make the tournament work.
Rising fuel prices might have discouraged people from a North Dakota trip, he said.
"This is what would stop me if I was going to enter a tournament in North Dakota and I lived in Texas or Florida or California - the money it would take just to get out here and try to win would be too much of a risk," Bail said. "Gas prices, I think, are a huge reason."
Bail's initial plan was to hold four qualifying rounds in nearby Minot starting on Saturday, with the top 12 bowlers facing off at Star City Lanes in Velva on June 24 for a "winner take all" tournament.
Now, he is hoping to counteract the high gas prices by getting 12 bowling alleys throughout the country to hold qualifying rounds so interested bowlers do not have to travel so far. Only the top 12 would have to come to North Dakota for the finals.
Jim McClain, general manager of Brunswick South Plains Bowl in Lubbock, Texas, said he has committed to be the host of a regional tournament.
"I don't know whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, but I'm more than willing to help him out," McClain said. "(But) I don't know how much interest he's going to have in owning a bowling alley."
Bail is giving up the business he has owned for two years in the north central town of about 1,000 people so he and his family can spend more time in Oregon, where they have relatives. He said the winner of the tournament would not necessarily have to move to Velva to run the business.
"It's theirs to do with as they choose," he said. "I still believe in the bowling alley. I think the bowling alley is worth owning."
Under the new tournament format, the winner would have the option of taking the keys to the business or a $15,000 cash prize. Bowlers in the top 12 would be assured of getting at least their $250 entry fee back. And there would be cash prizes for the second- and third-place finishers.
The tournament format, which Bail devised himself, would not change. The score nearest to a bowler's own average would win. That means a person who regularly bowls 100 and someone who consistently rolls 250 would have an equal chance of success.
Bail hopes to hold the tournament later this summer. He estimates he would need about 60 bowlers in each of the 12 regions to generate enough money to pay off all the business debt and perhaps have a little left over.
McClain's bowling alley is the only one so far to commit to a regional. Bail is contacting others, and also hopes word will spread through his Web site.
McClain said he hopes Bail succeeds.
"There's always a need for bowling centers, and I'd hate to see a center close down," he said.
Bail said he's not about to give up keeping Star City Lanes alive. If the tournament comes off and the winner takes the cash prize option, "I think a year from now, maybe I'll do this all over again," he said.