Former Capital Bowl to become family entertainment center

March 18, 2021 at 5:05 a.m. | Updated March 18, 2021 at 10:07 a.m.

by Layne Stracener

Liv Paggiarino/News TribuneThe interior of Capital Bowl, which was severely damaged in the May 2019 tornado, lies empty and gutted Wednesday afternoon, with bits of material strewn around the front entrance. The seemingly destructive site is actually a sign of good news — the property has been bought and will be rebuilt into a new bowling alley and arcade. The wooden skeleton of some rebuilt walls have already been put up; the new owners said they plan to gut the interior and cover the exterior with new materials as part of the renovation process.
Liv Paggiarino/News TribuneThe interior of Capital Bowl, which was severely damaged in the May 2019 tornado, lies empty and gutted Wednesday afternoon, with bits of material strewn around the front entrance. The seemingly destructive site is actually a sign of good news — the property has been bought and will be rebuilt into a new bowling alley and arcade. The wooden skeleton of some rebuilt walls have already been put up; the new owners said they plan to gut the interior and cover the exterior with new materials as part of the renovation process.

Five local business owners have bought the former Capital Bowl property and plan to turn it into a family entertainment center with an arcade, bowling lanes, and a full restaurant and sports bar.

Scot Drinkard, one of the new property owners, said it will be like a "mini Dave & Buster's."

"The whole place is probably going to be more adult-driven but family-friendly and kid-friendly," he said. "I feel like we'll be catering more to adults, but kids and families will be welcome and will have a ton of fun."

There will be 12 bowling lanes and a VIP room with four more bowling lanes. The VIP room will be available for parties or team-building for businesses.

"It's got a little bit different LED lighting, and it's just a little bit fancier," Drinkard said.

There will also be indoor sports simulators to play sports such as kickball, soccer and football.

Much of the plan is still in the design phase, but the inside of the building is completely gutted, and work on the exterior facade of the building has started. The building's exterior will be left up and covered with new materials.

Drinkard said he expects construction to be done by the start of 2022. The project will cost approximately $5 million.

"We were really shooting for September, but that's probably not going to happen just because we've got to get our final drawings done, we're still working on getting a few bids from some people, and we're also waiting on city approvals," he said.

The former Capital Bowl property sustained heavy damage from the May 2019 tornado. Capital Bowl, which first opened as West Gate Lanes in 1961, announced in October 2019 it would not reopen.

In May 2020, Tom Mendenhall, a member of the property's ownership group, said they had decided to sell the property instead of repairing it, with the hope someone could rebuild it into a new bowling alley. However, there was no significant interest until recently.

The new property owners are: Drinkard, who owns Spectators Sports Bar and Grill; Gerlach Construction owner Mark Gerlach and Brian Bloomer, co-owners of Storage Solutions; and Brad Vandegriffe and Jeremy Geisler, who own rental properties and are opening T3 Fitness.

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