Local bowling alley looking to reopen in May
Many area residents have been starving for some recreation amid the coronavirus-induced stay-at-home order. One major recreational outlet hopes to be back open soon to provide some relief.
Chris Thompson, proprietor of T-P Lanes in Bellefontaine, said Monday that he has a plan in place to open the local bowling alley in May, pending approval from the Logan County health department.
Ohio governor Mike Dewine has issued a phased-in reopening of the state economy beginning May 1. However, it will not be business as usual. Local businesses are being asked to submit a plan to the health department detailing how they plan to keep employees and customers safe.
“We feel like we have a good plan that will keep everybody safe,” said Thompson. “I feel like we can get back to bowling while keeping people safe at the same time.”
Among the changes Thompson plans to make is to alternate lanes for use, with an empty lane between each group of bowlers. There will be sanitizing stations, and plexiglass partitions will also be used to protect both bowlers and employees.
Thompson said he will allow leagues to finish up their fall schedules, with about “five or six” having already voiced a desire to do that. Open bowling will likely not be offered immediately.
“When we start open bowling, we are looking at doing block scheduling where people will book their bowling times in blocks,” said Thompson. “We will allow a half hour between each block so the bowling areas can be sanitized. We will use odd numbered lanes and leave the even ones empty.”
Unlike golf courses, which have been allowed to operate as an “essential businesses,” bowling alleys have the challenge of conducting their sport in an indoor environment, which can make social distancing rules more difficult to abide by. But with the steps Thompson has in place, he strongly believes his business can operate safely.
“If we didn’t feel like we could do this safely, we wouldn’t take the risk,” said Thompson.
“Being an indoor sport, there are space limitations we have to deal with. But we feel like there are many ways we can provide our customers a safe way to enjoy our sport.”