The Future of Bowling in Galesburg

It doesn't have to be the end, but the future will be different

The Iconic bowling mural on Northgate Lanes of N Henderson St.

On October 18th, 2021 the Galesburg City Council fast tracked the approval of a new C2 class of liquor license. This laid the groundwork for the former Northgate Bowling lanes to be turned into a Liquor ‘n’ Wine. It’s a big box liquor store which would be built on the site after tearing down our town’s historic bowling alley.

Some are in favor and others are opposed, the Facebook comments on the Register Mail article were not supportive at all. While I am very much in favor of the project, I can see why people are upset. So I want to walk through this specific development because it helps demonstrate a possible vision for our town going forward. For added contrast, I will also be looking at the good and bad of stopping the project and keeping Northgate Lanes.

The Good

For Liquor ‘n’ Wine

The three main reasons we as a community should welcome this redevelopment is that it brings new revenue to our city government, boosts the local economy, and redevelops existing land.

Let’s first look at government revenue. Currently the Northgate location is on prime real estate right on Henderson St and is currently not generating tax revenue. If it was the case that the bowling alley was vacant but was still paying its property tax then this may be a different story. But as it stands there is no revenue coming from the alley and it doesn’t seem like there is a future where it will. Tax revenue for the city government is good because it helps fund improvements and maintenance of our town.

This redevelopment can also help spur our local economy. While selling liquor isn’t really an activity that spurs more economic growth, redeveloping the land can. This is through the new construction jobs. It could also be that this redevelopment could raise the profile of the area around the store and spur on more development or fill more vacant locations.

Lastly it is very good that this is a redevelopment, not a new development. Had Liquor ‘n’ Wine decided to build on a new plot of land out in Seminary Square or anywhere on the outskirts of town, I would probably be against the project. I would especially be opposed if it involved creating new roads or water lines for the building. In short, we do not truly account for how expensive new roads and water connections are for the long term finances of the city. So any chance we can get new buildings onto existing plots of land that are already receiving city services is a good thing.

Keeping the Bowling Alley

The absolute best case scenario for the bowling alley being preserved is the city taking over the land and the business and operating the historic bowling alley at a loss using tax dollars. I don’t think this is going to happen. While I’m normally open to using tax dollars to help benefit people, subsidizing a too-large bowling alley is not the most useful benefit. And if there isn’t money to operate a bowling alley, there is much less money available to preserve a bowling alley.

The Bad

For Liquor ‘n’ Wine

The bad also comes in three forms, the first being that we are losing a historic building. While over my lifetime Northgate was hardly the most reliable establishment in town and was difficult to breathe in when you could still smoke inside, it was a cool place. Because this building was so large it felt like it had some real importance to it. I’ve been to numerous birthday parties, lock ins, and occasional free bowling sessions that have been very fun.

The second bad part is that we are replacing it with a liquor store. While I don’t see this as an inherently bad thing, many people in town feel like it is a degenerate building. We do have a relatively high number of liquor stores in the Galesburg area, with one prominent store, HyVee Liquor, just a block away. So some are upset that we are tearing down an iconic building to replace it with yet another place people can buy supplies to get drunk.

The third bad is that it’s sad to see a family friendly venue get destroyed. This town historically hasn’t had a lot to do for younger folks (see our sky high teen pregnancy rate of the past). For a lot of people this project symbolizes everything wrong with our town and its direction. They feel as though we are replacing our beloved family friendly landmarks for just another store to buy booze at.

Keeping the Bowling Alley

That being said, I don’t think many appreciate how the size of Northgate affects its ability to be profitable, because it is MASSIVE. 40 lanes is a lot of lanes, a lot of space to maintain and temperature control. The business model of running a 40-lane bowling alley in this town no longer works. Northgate was built to accommodate a town of 35,000 in the heyday of bowling, but now it is way too large for a town of 30,000 that is not as interested in bowling. If we shoot down this redevelopment project, we would not see anything come of Northgate. It would continue to sit vacant, almost impossible to run a profitable business in a space far too large.

The Bowling

So the bowling, what do we do about it? Does bowling have a future in Galesburg when it looks pretty grim right now?

In his interview with the Register-Mail, the previous owner said that there was still a good number of people bowling but it just wasn’t enough:

"We were certainly popular enough. We frequently had waiting lines on the weekends. But we were not able to grow the league bowling at all. Over the time I owned it, we gradually lost several leagues. That's the bread and butter of it."

This town clearly wants to bowl still and we are destroying our bowling alley. This is an opportunity to build a new more successful bowling alley, one that’s the right size and in the right place.

Now this idea I’m about to propose is just an idea, not a plan or something that any current stakeholders are considering. But it’s how we should think about these problems going forward.

Someone should invest to turn the old Carriage House at 248 E Simmons into a bowling alley. 

Google Streetview of 248 E Simmons

Think about it, walking past those massive windows and seeing bowling balls hurling towards the pins would be a pretty neat sight to see. The building is currently being used mainly by La Cantinita and partially by some sort of wood working enterprise in the larger area. The alley doesn’t have to be here exactly, but it’s a location that would be perfect for the job due to its size and location.

Bowling for today and the Future

If we were to have a 10-12 lane bowling alley downtown, there is a good chance that it would be able to succeed as a business. It would not be nearly as large as Northgate, which was its main downfall.

With 10-12 lanes I’m sure the alley would be plenty busy and could still even host some leagues. With the alley being downtown it would be more accessible for more people. We have many people who live near downtown, and bowling is an activity that is affordable and accessible to almost everyone. 

This also works to the point of creating a walkable city with more things to do. I am someone who likes to go out downtown on my weekends. It’s fun and very enjoyable for me. I also enjoy bowling, but I don’t enjoy bowling nearly enough that I would change my plans to go bowling. 

With Northgate on Henderson St, it was so far away from everything else people do on a night out. If you wanted to go bowling at Northgate, that’s about all you would do for the night. But if the alley was downtown you could be out having dinner or a drink with friends and ask “hey, do you want to go bowl a game?” and then be able to just walk over and do it. The commitment would not be nearly as high so you could just add a game of bowling to your night of fun instead of deciding before it all starts that bowling was going to be your whole night.

So in summary, it’s sad to see Northgate go, but it’s good that Liquor ‘n’ Wine has decided to invest their money here (they are getting no subsidies from the city or local organizations the best I can tell). We can certainly keep bowling in Galesburg, but it’ll be different. If someone is willing to make the investment in an alley that’s the right size and in the right location, I think it can still succeed as a business in Galesburg.