What is needed to open a bowling alley? Bowling alley business plan. Bowling equipment cost. How to Buy the Best Bowling Equipment. Bowling business plan with calculations

Economic indicators of the bowling club located on 700 sq. m and providing 10 playing tracks and a bar, subject to registration of the premises for rent.

Market analysis and competition

The bowling club is an entertainment facility for active recreation of the population. Today, almost no one will be surprised by its purpose, especially in large cities, people quite often rush to diversify their weekday evenings and weekends by going to bowl at the pins. With such demand, as well as the undersaturation of regional market segments, opening a bowling club can become a profitable and promising business.

According to scientific and economic research, it has been determined that today the Russian bowling market is not saturated enough. So, you can meet many cities, especially small sizes and settlements in whose territory there is not a single bowling club. This situation contributes to the development of quite promising business in this industry.

The modern type of bowling developed quite recently, about 20 years ago. Previously, such institutions were intended only for the upper strata of the population. Today, anyone has the right to visit gaming clubs, but they are most focused on the population with an average income. Bowling alley visitors can be

  • civil servants;
  • office workers;
  • university students and others.

Today, such gaming establishments are popular among young people along with nightclubs and cinemas. According to experts, the dynamics of development of this type of business is closely related to the growth of the population’s well-being.

As for competition in this type of business, it is high in large regions country and is practically absent in small settlements.

The first place in terms of the number of bowling centers is occupied by Moscow (about 250 establishments), and the second place by St. Petersburg (170 clubs). There are no players occupying a significant share in this market segment. Network participants are just beginning their development and today represent not specialized bowling clubs, but full-fledged entertainment centers with a large list of entertainment services.

Registration and organization of business

Any kind commercial activities subject to mandatory state registration V established by law ok. In order for bowling to have the opportunity to work with corporate clients, when registering it, you must choose the form of ownership in the form of an LLC. For this purpose, they are formed constituent documents And authorized capital, after which the appropriate application form is submitted to the local Federal Tax Service inspectorate. At the same time, you need to fill out a notification about the chosen taxation regime (STS at a rate of 6% of income), receive statistical codes and register with the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund.

Required Documentation

  • certificates of state registration of individual entrepreneurs or legal entities;
  • certificate of registration with the Federal Tax Service;
  • a lease agreement or other document defining the right of ownership of the premises;
  • conclusions from the SES and State Fire Service;
  • permissions local authorities authorities;
  • contracts for solid waste removal and hazardous waste disposal;
  • agreements with an organization for disinfestation of ventilation and air conditioning systems;
  • permissions from authorized establishments for the signboard and use of cash registers;
  • permits from Rospotrebnadzor and local administrations for the sale of certain types of goods.

If desired, the bowling alley owner can issue a certificate of conformity. In addition, if a bar is planned to be organized on the territory of an entertainment establishment, then a license will be required giving the right to sell alcoholic products.

Premises, renovation and interior

The main criterion determining the choice of a suitable location for a future bowling club should be the presence of a residential area near the residential sector and the absence of competitors, not only of the same clubs, but also of other gambling establishments. It is considered optimal to locate bowling alleys near transport routes and metro stations.

If we talk about renting premises, then it is most convenient to organize an establishment on the territory:

  • upper floors of shopping or business centers;
  • closed cinemas, cultural centers or warehouses.

The bowling alley building can be built from scratch. Despite the fact that this method of acquiring premises will require considerable capital and a lot of time, in addition, it will increase the payback period of the business, but the building itself will become the property of the entrepreneur and will help him in the future to significantly reduce current costs. One should not ignore the fact that the modern construction market is ready to offer a large number of inexpensive, but sufficiently high-quality materials.

To organize a bowling alley, you will need an area of ​​at least 1000 square meters. m, it must meet the requirements fire service, SES and other authorized departments.

In addition to the service hall, it is necessary to provide rooms for organizing the machine department and technical department for storing various parts and equipment. Engine room subject to sound insulation to ensure customer comfort. But to create an interior that will allow visitors to feel comfortable, it is best to use the services of an experienced designer.

Equipment and facilities

In addition to choosing a suitable room, when drawing up a bowling alley project, it is important to consider play equipment. The main list of club equipment must include:

  • pinspotter - a device that restores pins to their original position;
  • ball return system;
  • monitors;
  • scoring system;
  • paths equipped with a base.

The quantity of equipment depends on the planned volume of services provided, and its price depends on the selected manufacturer.

In addition to the actual gaming devices, you also need to take care of furniture sets, decorative panels, spare parts, accessories and other consumables.

Organization of the club's work

The main services of almost every bowling club are:

  1. Renting in hourly rental game paths.
  2. Cafe or bar services.

When planning the club's operating hours, it is important to take into account preferences potential clients, or rather the time at which they are most likely to visit. So, on weekdays, such rest is in demand in the evening, since during the day most people are at work or school. At the same time, on weekends it is worth taking care of a continuous schedule, because on vacation people are ready to have fun at any time of the day. If there are no competing organizations nearby, then at this time you can expect a fairly saturated flow of customers, which allows entrepreneurs to raise prices.

The recommended opening hours for bowling alleys are from 12.00 to 6.00.

Registration is carried out by pre-booking a track by phone on the official website or by directly contacting the club administrator.

Staff

For the smooth operation of the bowling club, it is necessary to take care of the maintenance staff. Thus, the most important specialist in such applications is a mechanic who monitors the operation of equipment and technical means, as well as their repair. In addition, the bowling alley staff will depend on the availability of additional services (cafe, etc.). When organizing a club with 5-10 playing tracks, the following personnel will be required:

  • mechanics – 3 rates;
  • administrators – 3 rates;
  • instructors – 3 rates;
  • security guards;
  • waiters - 2-3 rates;
  • bartender - 2-3 bets;
  • cooks - 2-3 rates.

As a rule, due to the peculiarities of the organization of work of such gaming establishments, the staff is assigned a shift work schedule.

Marketing

  • outdoor advertising in the form of a colorful sign;
  • online advertising on social networks;
  • official business card website;
  • SEO website promotion in search engines;
  • leaflets, booklets and business cards.

In addition, it is worth considering discounts in advance for certain social groups society (students, young families, etc.), as well as develop loyalty promotions (discounts for birthday people, corporate customers, etc.).

Financial component of business

The financial component of any business that requires
large areas and special expensive equipment, including the opening of a bowling club, directly depends on significant amounts of investment. For determining economic feasibility In implementing the idea of ​​opening a gaming establishment, it is important to calculate as accurately as possible the cost of opening and maintaining the activity, as well as the amount of future income and the payback period. When making calculations, it is important to take into account the degree of influence of the characteristics of the regional market.

Cost of opening and maintaining

To open a bowling club with 10 playing lanes, taking into account the rental of premises with an area of ​​700 sq. m. and organizing a bar will require at least 16 million rubles. This amount will include expenses:

  • to pay for the first month of rent - 400 thousand rubles;
  • for repairs and preparation of the premises - 3 million rubles;
  • for the purchase and installation of equipment - 11 million rubles;
  • for the purchase of accessories and consumables – 1 million rubles;
  • to pay for registration, advertising and other expenses - 600 thousand rubles.

The amount of current expenses of the club can reach 800 thousand rubles per month. Most of the costs will be rent of about 400 thousand rubles and wage with deductions of approximately 300 thousand rubles.

Amount of future income

Depending on the effectiveness of the promotion of the establishment and the increase in the flow of customers, the bowling alley's revenue for the first two to three months of operation will not exceed 600 thousand rubles per month. Over the next three months, you can expect an average income of up to 1 million rubles, and by the end of the first year of work financial indicator operation of the establishment may exceed 2 million rubles. As a result, the annual revenue will be about 17 million rubles.

Payback period

Considering that the bowling alley's annual expenses are 9,600 thousand rubles, the net profit for the year of operation will be 7.4 million rubles. As a result start-up capital, invested in the business, will be able to pay off after 2-2.5 years of continuous operation of the club.

Despite the huge amount of capital investment, with competent organization and high-quality marketing policy, the business of maintaining a bowling club can become profitable and pay for itself in almost one to two years of work. Such gaming establishments are in great demand among the modern population, which allows their owners to make a good profit and develop.

Today it is almost impossible to surprise or interest a Russian client with anything. Word " bowling“Everyone has heard it, it seems, everywhere, but very few have been there. In Russia, bowling has not yet taken root as much as in the United States.

There there are 2,000 people per lane, but in Russia so far there are 65,000. At the moment, there are about 380 bowling clubs in Russia, more than 2,500 lanes, most of which are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Before the financial crisis of 1998, bowling was the game of a select few. They paid more than $100 for an hour of play. Now the middle class is increasingly playing bowling, and for an hour of play you have to pay an average of $25, which has benefited the bowling alley itself: the market has expanded, the price of equipment has decreased, and new clubs have opened.

Our businessmen quickly realized that they could make a lot of money at bowling at minimal cost. The turnover of the bowling industry doubles every year. One club can bring in an average of 300-400 thousand US dollars per year. Recently, bowling clubs have been opened in Krasnodar, Tolyatti, Perm, Voronezh, Vladivostok and other cities. We can say that there is a real bowling boom in Russia.

If you invest about $500,000 in a bowling alley, it will pay for itself in about 1.5 - 2 years. Sometimes the additional profit from related services can even exceed the profit from the game itself. Low operating costs and low capital investment make this type of business very attractive.

On the Russian market, bowling equipment is mainly supplied by Brunswick and AMF.

In order to start your own bowling business, you need to think and weigh everything. Think about what equipment you will buy and, most importantly, what kind of club you want to create. It all depends on the availability of square meters. One track requires about 100 square meters of area; the length of the room cannot be shorter than 35 meters - for run-up, throw and rest. With absence special requirements to the premises, the building itself may cost you a little less than a store or residential premises. Equipment that will be required is a track with a base, a ball return system, monitors, and a pinspotter—a device that places pins on the track. A scoring system is also needed. The cost of auxiliary equipment is included in the delivery price. This is furniture, a set of materials, spare parts, etc. The cost of the complex can be 25-48 thousand bucks per track.
When starting to build a bowling club, think about which contingent you will bet on.

There are several types of bowling clubs.

Sports bowling;
. Family bowling;
. Entertaining;
. VIP bowling.

Sports bowling center

It would be good to open such a center at a stadium, fitness center, or sports complex. There, bowling will be an addition to existing programs and a meeting place for sports fans. In the USA, such bowling alleys are very popular. You can see Schwarzenegger, Stallone and other Hollywood stars there. We have sports stars visiting them. Such clients will play mainly during the day and every day. It would be nice to have an accessories store in such a club. You can attract a staff of coaches and judges. Advertising is best done in sports publications, on the Internet, on radio and television. The interior of such sports bowling clubs may contain photos of famous bowlers, sports stars, certificates and cups for sports victories, etc. You can arrange a club for non-smoking players.

Bowling center for the whole family

Such a club is created specifically taking into account the conditions and specifics of a family vacation; its core is a bowling alley and a good restaurant. Most people will visit you married couples, groups of friends, parents with children. Take care of parking—most of your guests will not be poor people. No expense will be spared for children, so you need to have a good kitchen and a varied children's menu. Birthdays and anniversaries can often be celebrated and held here. Additional space will be needed for the recreation and food area.

Care must be taken to select good wines and other drinks. Leisure options need to be as varied as possible. You can combine bowling with billiards, slot machines and attractions. You can invite specialists who know how to entertain and entertain children. The interior can be composed of photographs of movie stars and pop stars.

"Entertaining" bowling

The most democratic type of bowling. Designed for large youth companies, it works almost around the clock. There should be a lot of additional entertainment, such as slot machines, a disco, computer Club etc. It is worth providing a bar. You don’t have to spend much on a luxurious and expensive parking lot, but you need to take care of a good DJ. The bowling alley should be located close to transport and metro stations. The music should be youthful and fashionable. A reliable security service will also not be superfluous. You won’t have to spend almost any money on advertising—young people will do everything for you.

Indoor bowling club

There is a reason to create such a bowling club if among your friends and clients there are many people of higher social status. This must be an expensive establishment for highly respected clients. Everything should be discreet and meet the best world standards, since people from high society will spend time here.
It would be better if there was live music. It is necessary to provide good parking for expensive cars and a good security service. In this case, the main source of income for you can be an annual club card. Such a club can cost several million dollars, and real estate in a prestigious area will be included in this price. It is also necessary to take care of expensive equipment from the world's leading manufacturers. Among other things, you will need a good chef and well-trained staff. Advertising is out of the question.

What can I recommend watching?

To compare and form your own opinion about bowling clubs, you can visit several leading clubs. You can name Miami bowling and MegaSphere in Moscow. These are sports clubs. Family bowling clubs - Orange bowling and Loko-park bowling. The entertaining style is followed by Iron bowling and Airplane bowling.

conclusions

A bowling alley business is fast growing, highly profitable and low risk. The costs of device and organization are minimal. In addition to the game, you can make a solid profit from selling food and drinks, selling accessories, billiards, and other services. In a year, a good bowling alley can bring in more than $20,000 in net income.

Attention! The free business plan offered for download below is a sample. A business plan that best suits the conditions of your business must be created with the help of specialists.

The story is told by an entrepreneur from the Tambov region, Inna Golikova, the owner of a large bowling club. Inna founded her own successfully developing business in the city center, on the 2nd floor of a shopping and entertainment center. She supervises 15 employees. The club’s monthly income is 2,000,000 rubles.

Bowling alley business plan ready. And inexpensive!

The idea of ​​organizing a private bowling club came to me as a profitable investment. After the accident in which my husband died, I sold his business, and decided to invest the money I received in my own enterprise.

I must say that the revenue turned out to be very good, about 45,000,000 rubles, this amount could be invested in the purchase of 2-3 cafes with equipment.

But I decided that a bowling alley was the best solution for several reasons:

  • There are very few of them in our city, which means competition decreases and demand increases;
  • With proper business development, good revenue could be obtained;
  • I love bowling very much.

Finding a suitable premises turned out to be the most difficult thing. The main hall must have ceilings no lower than 4 m, and each track, of which there are at least 10, has 55 sq.m. area.

Luckily for me, I saw an advertisement on the Internet for renting out the 2nd floor of a huge entertainment center. It turned out that I was even luckier - the hall was already partially equipped for a bowling club.

Purchased a pinspotter, tracks, monitors, balls, pins, boots, and so on. All I had to do was buy furniture.

Since I had several rooms at my disposal - in one of them, I decided to open a hairdresser a little later, in another I set up a relaxation room, and in the third I planned to equip it as a bar. But for now, my main goal was the bowling club itself.

How to create your own ready-made business plan for a bowling club?

I officially registered an individual entrepreneur and registered a company.

But first, we had to think about how to do it so as not to lose the money invested, but, on the contrary, to increase it. It was necessary to draw up a business plan, from which it would be clear:

  • how much money should I invest in total;
  • analysis of competitiveness by location and demand market saturation;
  • regulations and legal acts that determine all the nuances of my business;
  • equipment calculation;
  • number of personnel;
  • the payback of the project and a thousand other little things, important and not so important.

Frankly speaking, I really didn’t want to trust the future of my club to any dubious agencies that my husband didn’t like during his lifetime.

I turned to my friend’s son, a future analyst. I wanted not only to get a high-quality economics program, but also to learn how to write business plans myself.

We downloaded the template from the Internet for only 350-400 rubles. As it turns out, you could do it for free. However, the free ones are last year's versions, created by those who practice composing them. They need to change almost all prices and large quantity data.

For 400 rubles, we received modern scheme development of my business. I just needed to add a few details and innovations, as well as include my additional expenses.

Then combine the data in a special program and in less than 23 hours, working programm business plan was ready.

Subsequently, I completely followed it and as a result, after 3 years, I completely repaid all expenses. The income of the club, with a cafe and a hairdresser, is 2 million rubles per month.

Business idea bowling club

Some useful information and a brief presentation of the bowling alley business plan:

Bowling business plan with calculations

Currently, bowling in Russia is very popular, while there are not many bowling clubs in our country yet, so it can be safely classified as a fast-growing and developing type of business.

According to forecasts, the reserve of interest and investment growth will be approximately 15–20 years. Such an enterprise guarantees enviable profitability with relatively low risks.

It should be noted that the costs of opening a club are very significant - about 200-400 thousand dollars. Costs depend on the format of the club you plan to create.

A full-fledged entertainment center (bar, bowling alley, billiards room, climbing wall, children's room, etc.) or an exclusively sports and entertainment bowling club?

If there is a shortage of money, then at the first stage you can start with 5-8 tracks and a small player recreation area.

However, the experience of bowling clubs shows that the more lanes there are, the lower the costs for maintenance, operation and repair of one lane.

It is important to find a suitable premises.

The ten-lane club occupies approximately 1,500 square meters. m., there should be no obstacles: pillars, partitions, columns.

Abandoned workshops of enterprises, as a rule, are not suitable due to their location; few people would want to go to the outskirts of the city or to an industrial zone in order to play bowling.

To build such a building in the city center on a turnkey basis is quite expensive. The best option There will be a rental or purchase of a hall in a shopping and entertainment center.

When setting up a bowling club, the main expense item will be the purchase and installation of special equipment: a lane, a base and a pinspotter (a mechanism that collects and installs pins on the lane, returns the balls and counts points).

The cost of one set will be 25-48 thousand dollars, depending on the manufacturer. At the same time, the design service life of this equipment is 25-45 years old.

You should also spend a certain amount of money on interior design, organizing a recreation area, and spend on advertising and your own website.

Table No. 1. Potential of consumers of bowling club services in Russia

The minimum staff of a bowling center includes:

  • bowling instructor;
  • security;
  • administrator;
  • accountant.

According to experts, one lane in the club is occupied on average 6-8 hours a day. The cost of an hour of play is 10-20 dollars on weekends and holidays.

On weekdays, morning and daytime, as a rule, reduce the cost of renting a track to 5-8 dollars. In this case, for 156 weekend days a year (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), one track will bring the owner 16.38 thousand dollars.

The same track will bring approximately 7.25 thousand dollars on weekdays. In this case, the annual income from one track will be 23.63 thousand dollars. This will completely recoup the cost of the equipment, taking into account all additional costs.

Alexander Khodakov

The word “bowling” no longer surprises anyone, although bowling centers are still in short supply in Russia. For example, in the USA there is one bowling alley for every 2,000 people, and in our country there is one for every 65,000. In total, there are now more than 380 bowling alleys and 2,500 lanes in the country, about half of which are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There has been a particular boom in the opening of bowling alleys in the last two years, and last year bowling balls reached the most distant regions of Russia.

History of bowling business in Russia

Before the August crisis of 1998, the new Russians amused themselves with an overseas outlandish “game of bowling” for one hundred dollars an hour, and the owners of the first bowling alleys, as they admitted, were simply shoveling money. Today, the cost of an hour of play costs an average of $25, and the bowling alleys themselves are aimed at the middle class of the population. The economy of the bowling business did not suffer much from this. Firstly, the cost of equipment has decreased, and secondly, the market has expanded significantly - the number of bowlers in Russia doubles every year. In addition, an increase in the number of lanes reduces costs - if previously clubs opened with an average of six lanes, now 30 lanes does not surprise anyone.

Forecast for the growth of the number of tracks in Russia

Bowling business in Russian

More business people begins to understand that bowling is not only a fashionable pastime, but also a fast-growing business. The turnover of the bowling industry in Russia is growing by leaps and bounds - in 2002 $180 million, and in 2003 it was almost twice as much. The net profit of an 8-12 track club is about $400 thousand a year.

While some entrepreneurs are just thinking about investing in bowling alleys, others are already under construction, and still others are skimming the cream. In the Yandex news feed for just one month, messages were found about the completed or planned addition of the number of lanes in Voronezh, Krasnodar, Belgorod, Togliatti, Ufa, Perm, Almetyevsk, Novy Urengoy, Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, Nakhodka, Naryan-Mar, in the Navy town of Vidyaevo, and even in the city with the exotic name of Pyt-Yakh (Tyumen region). This does not include new bowling alleys in both capitals. There is also information about many bowling tournaments. From professional ones, where tens of thousands of dollars in prizes are at stake, to corporate tournaments, for example, dentists and journalists. Impressive information about unusual marketing moves some clubs, for example about the blindfold championship and the strip bowling tournament, where only topless girls were allowed. Of course, such inventions of marketers attract a lot of visitors, and good specialists in the bowling business have been in great demand lately. The director of one of the oldest Moscow bowling alleys admitted to us when the article was being prepared that he had long been “wooed” to come and build a new bowling center in a distant region. “They offer a lot of money, but I don’t want to leave my family for a long time,” he complains.

Experts say

  • Opening a bowling alley requires an investment of about half a million dollars, and it pays off in an average of 1.5 - 2 years
  • Additional profit from related services reaches the level of profit from the game itself
  • The bowling business has minimal sales costs and low operating expenses
  • Tangible bowling alley assets retain their value for 20 years
Measure seven times

Newbies in the bowling business always have a lot of questions: where to start, what costs will it require, and, of course, how to choose equipment and supplier? Let's try to answer these questions. First of all, let's calculate the square meters.
It is believed that:

  • one track requires 100 sq. meters, and the room should be at least 35 meters long, or better yet, with a margin, because the standard length of the track is 25 meters, but it also requires space for a run-up and a place to rest.
  • special technical requirements to the premises there is no, on the contrary, building codes are less strict than for retail, residential and office buildings, no windows are required, no special communications are required either, so the construction of one square meter for a bowling alley is much cheaper than in the case of fitness centers , cinemas, beauty salons, etc.
  • main expenses purchase and installation of equipment
Bowling equipment is understood as a set of the following products: a lane with a base, a pinspotter - a device for placing pins on the lane, a ball return system, a scoring system, and monitors. In addition, the delivery price usually includes auxiliary equipment - a set of furniture, decorative panels, a set of consumables, accessories and spare parts. The cost of such a kit varies from different suppliers ranging from 25 to 48 thousand USD. for the track.

Customer care? No, about your own income!

Before you start opening a bowling alley, take a look around. Experienced directors of bowling centers say that the vast majority of players come to bowl after work. Therefore, it is better to have office centers, convenient entrances and ample parking nearby. It is advisable that there is a metro station or bus stop nearby, because the second influx of visitors is Friday and Saturday, when the paths are busy all night (they play until the first roosters!)

And, of course, you need to leave room for support services. This could be a cafe, billiard tables, slot machines, and sometimes a dance floor, sauna, karting, or a store where bowlers can buy personal balls, shoes and other accessories (PRO-SHOP). At most bowling alleys, ancillary service revenue accounts for nearly half of total revenue.

Review of bowling equipment suppliers

The situation is different in each region, so you can save money on construction and repairs somewhere, but you will still have to buy equipment in Moscow. Let's see who our suppliers are?

It should be noted that in last years Almost all leading manufacturers have reached a level of technology at which it is no longer possible to offer anything revolutionary new or significantly surpass competitors, and the innovations introduced recently relate mainly to the field of design and creativity. Therefore, the difference in the price of tracks on the Russian market is often due not to the difference in the quality of the equipment, but to the degree of popularity and “promotion” of a particular brand.

And yet, two American companies were the first to enter the Russian market - Brunswick And AMF. A little later, other, less famous suppliers also joined in.

The company has long been the absolute leader of the Russian market Brunswick. Its equipment was used during the construction of the first bowling center in the capital's Russia Hotel in 1976. Recent history Brunswick in Russia began in 1997, when an accredited representative office opened in Moscow BRUNSWICK BOWLING & BILLIARDS. Then the interests of the international corporation in Russia began to be represented by its official distributor BB&B LLC (capital bowling equipment) and Bowling Business LLC (accessories, spare parts and Consumables for bowling centers).

Another largest equipment supplier, AMF Bowling Products, is represented in Russia by the official distributor of AMF Bowling Products LLC.

In the same 1998, a young and energetic brand appeared on the Russian market VIA BOWLING PRODUCTS. Over the 5 years of operation, the company has managed to seriously declare itself. The main reason successful brand promotion VIA the world market has become the optimal price-quality ratio.

Here are some charts and graphs for comparison:

Whose equipment is in Russian bowling alleys?
manufacturer clubs % tracks %
Brunswick 119 31.32% 921 37.71%
VIA 122 32.11% 693 28.38%
AMF 80 21.05% 567 23.22%
Others 59 15.53% 261 10.69%
Grand total 380 2442






The work of equipment suppliers is often not limited to the actual deliveries. A qualified supplier offers its clients a full range of services for the creation and organization of a bowling center, and, in particular, its services can be used to develop a club concept, comprehensive building design and interior design. This task falls on both the investor and the supplier and designer at the earliest stage of the project.

Types of bowling alleys

If you've read this far and are still interested, then it's time to talk about four possible bowling concepts. Based on the type of client the bowling alley will be aimed at, you can choose a sports, family, entertainment or VIP bowling concept.

Each will require taking into account its features not only when zoning, but also when designing engineering systems and communications - from architectural project, location (prestigious center or residential area) to the provision of equipment, equipment and support services.

Sports version of the bowling center

It is good to open such a bowling alley at a stadium, sports complex or fitness center, where bowling will be one of the components sports programs, a gaming addition to physical education classes and a place for communication between sports enthusiasts. Here the main players will be professionals, or “advanced” amateurs, who arrive in red cars, dress in jeans, T-shirts and sports jackets, carefully observing the rules of behavior and traditions. They won’t drink a lot of alcohol, but they will pay more for the game itself, spend money on a sushi bar, oxygen cocktails and sports nutritional supplements. In the States, in such bowling alleys you can easily meet Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and other Hollywood action stars. We have famous stars of domestic sports, who are followed by crowds of fans. This is where professional bowlers will come and train every day, and what is important - during the daytime. They will bring heavy suitcases with their own balls to the lanes, so to secure these regular players, it is a good idea to provide storage space for them for a small fee. In such a bowling alley, it would be good to make money from a pro-shop and a driller (one who drills a hole in the balls, adapting the ball to the bowler). Driller is a profession as rare as stove maker or astronaut. Bowlers go to a good driller the same way gourmets go to a good chef's restaurant. This will require full-time trainers who will begin to train newcomers. This will require a staff of judges, skilled organizers of sports tournaments with prize funds of several tens of thousands of dollars. Promotion of a sports bowling club will not cost much, but should be carried out by a PR specialist who knows how to cooperate with the news editors of sports publications, Internet sites, radio stations and television channels, and sports federations. On the walls at the entrance to the bowling alley, it is a good idea to place tournament schedules, photographs of professional bowlers with a list of their regalia, cups and certificates won, as well as photographs of famous athletes who have ever visited this establishment.

With the sports concept of bowling, it is important to ensure that the club adheres to the rules of the game and behavior on the lanes; there should be more obstacles (fences, guides) to ensure order and safety of the equipment in perfect condition. One more tip: provide as much ventilation as possible and post “no smoking” signs in the play area. These will further increase the number of visitors to your sports bowling club.

"Family" bowling center

Usually this is a club with a rich selection of entertainment for family and corporate recreation, the core of which is a bowling alley and a restaurant. Large groups of friends and colleagues, as well as families, will come here to spend half the day here. In the parking lot of such a bowling alley there will be a real variety of cars - from dozens of VAZs to Mercedes of various colors, and black will be less common. Frequent types of clients will be men with bellies, ladies of not very young age, and, of course, an abundance of very young children. different ages. Such a crowd will dress deliberately expensively, because a trip to bowling is also a “going out into the world.” The public will walk like a merchant, not denying themselves the little things. And the children will definitely be pampered with cakes, ice cream, slot machine tokens and other similar elements of caring for the younger generation. It is significant that groups of students will not appear here, so as not to inadvertently run into “boring ancestors” and relieve their ears from notations and pop music. But birthdays (including children’s), corporate parties and holidays will often be celebrated here. The bar and cafe will work with increased load, so it will be necessary to allocate at least 50 meters for the food area. It will be necessary to develop two types of food - fast food, which will be eaten in abundance in the game area (but only what can be consumed without forks and knives!), as well as an “a la carte” menu, where each dish is prepared to order, but quickly - no more than half an hour - after all, many players will stay after the game and have a hearty lunch. Strong alcoholic drinks, red semi-sweet wines and cola will be especially held in high esteem.

In a family bowling alley, you need to diversify your leisure options. Billiard tables, slot machines, fun attractions, and, of course, a children's area will bring in good revenue.

In establishments of this type, much attention is paid to creating a calm and comfortable atmosphere for guests. You will need specialists who know how to host a holiday and also keep children occupied.

On the walls at the entrance there should be photographs of pop and movie stars who have ever visited this bowling alley. Preferably with autographs. Promotion of such a bowling alley is expensive - it will require publications in glossy magazines, business magazines, and catalogs of expensive stores. Street banners and creating a “glossy” Internet site work well. The marketing department of a family bowling alley usually works in conjunction with several production companies, inviting various artists, presenters, and entertainers to corporate parties. Usually before each holiday (and there are many of them in Russia), such bowling alleys are reserved for large customers for one or two weeks, which means they are completely or partially closed for special services that bring in good income.

Bowling at the entertainment complex

This “rock” style bowling alley is the most democratic multidisciplinary establishment, designed to the greatest extent for mass recreation of youth and student groups that occupy this bowling alley continuously and around the clock. As a rule, there is a lot of additional entertainment that brings income to the owners (computer club, slot machines for non-cash winnings, American pool, disco, climbing wall, Q-Zar, etc.). Here is a bar where beer, low-alcohol drinks and Sprite will flow like a river. It will be smoky in here until it's white out. There will be a dating club, a disco, and a party place.

Here you don’t have to spend money on a large parking lot, you can choose less expensive equipment, the price of which is much lower, you can have inexpensive repairs with a stylish design, you can save on consumables.

When creating a bowling alley of this type, it is better to adhere to a democratic style of freedom in everything and deliberate sloppiness, taking into account the maximum mobility of visitors, as well as the principle of the easiest access to all areas (lanes, bar, etc.).

Important elements that should not be forgotten: such a bowling alley should be located near large institutions, next to a metro station or an intersection with several public transport routes, fashionable youth music should be played here, a DJ with a name should work here, as well as a security service that can support such an unpredictable public has order.

You won’t have to spend a lot on promoting such an establishment. Young people will quickly find their way here. But in order to consolidate the reputation of a “cool place”, you will have to spend a lot of effort. Joint actions with youth media, radio stations, and rock festivals will help here. It would be nice to have a few youth idols as regulars. You will definitely need to create an interactive website with chats and forums for fans of this club. You can’t “stand still” here, because fashion in music, clothing, and the preferences of young people is rapidly changing. You will need to keep up with them and quickly change styles. In general, in a youth club it is important to provide for all the elements of a party - competitions, attractions, fun. They can be observed and adopted from today's nightclubs. Then young people will come to your bowling alley as if they were coming to their own home.

Indoor bowling club

This version of bowling, which can be created if among your friends there are at least a dozen powerful people of this world. It will be an expensive establishment for VIP clients, the least democratic and the most expensive, with a small number of lanes that will be a pleasant addition to the club life of a limited number of people from high society. There may be live classical music playing, Bentleys or Rolls-Royces may be parked in the secure parking lot, and visitors are likely to be dressed not in Dolce Gabbana, but in Valentino.

By and large, here the proceeds from bowling will be of minimal importance to you. Most likely, visitors will pay a lot for an annual club card, because it will become a pass into a world where they can discuss a million-dollar contract in a relaxed atmosphere, put in a word about the right people, quickly solve – of course, not the world’s problems, but your own.

The same function, in general, is performed by VIP beauty salons, elite restaurants, saunas, and the like.

No one is surprised that within a few years the owners of such establishments work either in the Presidential Administration or occupy strategic positions in public or private corporations. An indoor bowling club is not a business, but a springboard to the top, and also an opportunity to become especially useful for serious businessmen, politicians, and officials, joining the Great Game.

Creating such a club can cost several million dollars; this amount includes the cost of real estate in a prestigious area, high-quality and stylish renovation, and professional equipment from leading manufacturers.

It will require well-trained staff capable of satisfying any visitor’s most unexpected request, a serious security service, and, of course, an expensive chef capable of satisfying the varied wishes of the guests. Advertising is simply harmful to such an establishment.

Where to see concept options

Sometimes it's easier to show than to explain. For those who are seriously thinking about creating a bowling alley, we can recommend visiting several clubs in the capital in order to get acquainted with one or another version of the bowling center's specialization. Of course, the concept in its pure form is rare, but a bias towards one strategy or another can be seen in any bowling alley. As they say, go and have a look.

Representatives sports concept bowling centers in Moscow include, for example, the Miami Bowling Club and the MegaSphere bowling center.

Family bowling chose Orange bowling and Loko-park bowling

Entertaining style preaches Airplane bowling and Iron bowling

Alas, you most likely will not be able to get into a closed bowling club.

conclusions

Bowling is a fast-growing business with an investment attractiveness margin of 10-15 years. The relative profitability of bowling is high, and the relative risk of this business is low. Tangible assets retain their value for 20 years or longer. Bowling in general is profitable business with minimal implementation costs and low operating costs, making the need for working capital not tall. In addition to income from the game itself, bowling provides an opportunity for an investor to receive additional profit from related services: sales of food and drinks, billiards and video games, sales of accessories. Moreover, the size of this revenue is comparable to the revenue from the game itself.

Each bowling lane generates $7 per hour in net profit. The average load on each track is 6-8 hours per day. Add here the income from the bar, kitchen, billiards, slot machines, sales of accessories, etc. You will earn more than $20,000 per month from operating an 8-lane bowling center after expenses.

Because operating costs in a bowling alley are low, gross profits can exceed 90% of revenues. Average project payback excluding capital construction is 1.5 – 2 years.

The profits of a bowling alley encourage many to open a bowling club. For the sake of a profit of approximately $400 thousand per year from eight tracks, many are willing to shell out half a million dollars at the start. Moreover, the tracks can be used for about 20 years.

The profitability of the business is approximately 25% and very much depends on what type of club you decide to choose. The most profitable and easiest to open is considered to be an establishment aimed at the middle class, where they pay approximately 500-800 rubles per track per hour. The big advantage of business is that the market is not yet saturated enough and there is relatively little competition here.

Room

The first thing a bowling club business plan should include is finding suitable premises. The length of the path must be at least 35 meters, plus another 100 square meters. m for its maintenance. For a total of 10 tracks, it is advisable to find premises of 1500 sq. m. m. It is desirable that the premises be located in the city center, close to other entertainment venues, office centers, as well as a good transport interchange or metro station. Parking must be provided. It is not possible to find a premises that would meet such requirements in every city.

Otherwise, premises for a club do not require any special conditions: you can do without windows, communications and other nuances. This significantly reduces the cost of entering the business.

Equipment

The biggest expense item will be bowling equipment: its purchase, installation and maintenance. Bowling set includes:

  • base;
  • paths;
  • pinspotter.

The latter's task includes counting points, setting pins and returning balls. The cost of equipment also includes furniture, decorative panels, consumables, accessories, and spare parts. The cost of such a set is 25-48 thousand dollars. Bowling equipment is supplied by leading manufacturers such as Brunswick and AMF. Representatives of these companies also help to design the club hall and develop its concept.

Types of bowling clubs

Before purchasing bowling equipment, you need to decide on the concept of the club. The zoning of the room, the number of paths, additional services, design of engineering systems, etc. depend on this. There are the following main types of clubs:

  • sports;
  • family;
  • entertaining;
  • closed.

For each of these cases, the question of how much it costs to open a bowling alley is solved differently.

Sport Club

The sports bowling business plan is aimed at professional athletes. Therefore, this club opens at fitness centers, stadiums, sports complexes. Additional income here comes from the sale of soft drinks and accessories. A separate profit comes from the work of instructors who teach the game, as well as the work of a dealer - a person who makes balls to order individual characteristics player.

Another task of such a club is to regularly hold competitions of various levels with a prize fund.

Family Club

In this case, in addition to the tracks themselves, it is necessary to provide other types of entertainment. We need to install slot machines and open a small cafe. Since the holiday is aimed at families, it is imperative to provide a play area for children. In such a club, additional profit can be received from birthday celebrations and corporate events.

Entertainment club

The entertaining bowling club is aimed mainly at young people, who usually visit it at any time of the day. Therefore, the club should offer a lot of other entertainment aimed at students and young people: a disco, slot machines, American pool, a computer club, etc.

Such a club allows you to open a bar not only with light cocktails, but also with alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks. The question of how to open an entertainment bowling alley has a number of advantageous solutions. For example, you don’t have to worry about parking, spend money on expensive repairs and exclusive bowling equipment. The only requirement is that it is located close to educational institutions and a low price per hour of using the track.

Closed club

In fact, such a club is aimed at VIP clients. For a VIP club it is enough to equip a small number of tracks. But the question of how to open a bowling alley will require significant financial investments. First of all, you need to buy new and expensive equipment, make good repairs, and purchase high-quality furniture. The main bet on income should be made not from the game itself, but from the sale of club cards, which are sold for an average period of a year.

Expenditure

To start it ready business, you will need to allocate at least 300 thousand dollars. Often this figure reaches 3 million dollars. It all depends on what type of club you are opening, what equipment you are purchasing for it and how many tracks you will operate.

The cost of equipment largely depends on the manufacturer. Thus, a ready-made kit from a Chinese manufacturer will cost 25-27 thousand dollars, from an American one - 38-40 thousand dollars. Wanting to save money at the start, many prefer to buy used equipment. But we must carefully check how well it was restored.

The list of expenses must include advertising, without which the club simply cannot break even. Conventional advertising in the media gives little return. It is much more effective to present it on banners, use advertising platforms of nearby office and entertainment centers. Therefore, an entrepreneur must be prepared to invest at least $3 thousand in advertising every month.

If, in addition to the bowling itself, you plan to receive additional income from other services, the cost items will expand significantly. For example, to install one billiard table, you will need about another 10 thousand dollars. To organize the work of a bar, you will need 15 thousand dollars. Another 10 thousand dollars must be allocated to pay for staff.

Profit

As we have already said, the cost of one hour of playing on the track is 500-800 rubles. depending on the time of day and day of the week. As a rule, unpopular watches have promotions with discounts of up to 150 rubles. in an hour. The most popular days of the week are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

One track works on average 6-8 hours per day. On peak days, the track can bring in profits of about 748 thousand rubles, during less popular times - about 376 thousand rubles. That is, from one track per month you can receive a little more than a million rubles.

If you opened a club with 15 lanes, your profit will be approximately 17 million rubles. It is believed that despite the massive investment, this long term business has comparatively short term payback if you organize good advertising.