Lakevilles new bowling alley has spared no expense to offer a striking venue for family entertainment. Brunswick Zone XL, a 57,000-foot bowling and entertainment center, opened its doors last week.
Brunswick Zone XL features 38 lanes, a multi-level laser tag arena based on video games, a video arcade with prizes, three event rooms, and the Fireside Grill, which features a full food and beverage menu. Unlike bowling alleys of the past, Brunswick Zone XL is completely smoke free, and manager Steve Ayles said all the features are designed to remind customers that Brunswick is changing the face of bowling.
This isnt your fathers bowling alley, Ayles said. Were here to provide an out in todays economy, where someone can have fun for two or three hours with their family for $100. For that much, you can do everything we offer here bowling, laser tag, video games, food you name it.
One of the first things people see when they walk through Brunswicks spacious entryway, which is dominated by a large rug featuring the Brunswick logo, is the facilitys video arcade. It features everything from the classic claw machine to state-of-the-art video games like a version of NBCs popular game show Deal or No Deal. Nearly 75 percent of the games in the arcade are redemption games, meaning the player can win tickets redeemable for prizes at the arcades shop. There arent any actual tickets in this arcade its paperless.
The tickets add up on a card that the player swipes through the machine, Ayles said. While the kids love winning the tickets, Mom and Dad dont like hefting them around, and neither do we.
The prize shop features everything from stuffed animals to Hummel figurines to sports memorabilia. Next to the gift shop is a set of doors leading to the facilitys laser tag system, which Ayles said is one of the best in the U.S. The black-light lit battlefield is perhaps the only post-apocalyptic landscape in Lakeville. Each player wears a special vest that can be tagged electronically, and the lighting effects in the room make simple navigation a thrilling challenge. The complexity of the laser tag room has even the adults impressed.
When you go in this room, your jaw will drop, Ayles said. You will have never seen anything like this before in your life.
While kids are an integral part of any family entertainment center, Brunswick Zone features activities for both adults and children to enjoy. The facilitys 38 bowling alleys are split into two rows of 19 lanes on each side of the room. This way, Ayles said, the leagues can play on one side and families can play on the other. Depending on what time a bowler arrives, he or she may be treated to a light show courtesy of the lanes midnight bowling lighting system. When it is activated, dots from laser beams circulate around the room, and neon lights above the bowling pins make them change to a variety of different colors.
Our cosmic light show is the best in the industry, Ayles said, as the various special effects dotted nearly every visible facet of the lanes.
The fun isnt limited to families. Companies can sign up to have team challenges at Brunswick Zone in which employee teams compete against each other for prizes. The standard team challenge lasts two and a half hours, and Ayles said companies use it as a way of raising morale among employees, and to give them a chance to get to know each other outside of the work environment.
Brunswick Zones service model differs from what is usually employed at a bowling alley. Instead of paying for shoes and lane at a counter, a customer merely signs up at the counter, and gets a receipt. Shoes are brought to a specific lane, and customers are charged for the length of time they spend bowling, not on a per-frame basis. No matter which activities are done or in what order, the customer receives one single receipt.
A lot of places arent like that, Ayles said. We can even break down that hourly charge for the bowling alleys. If you want to bowl for 15 minutes, well charge you for 15 minutes.
(Reporting, videography and editing by Lakeville-Current Community Editor Joe Palmersheim. Video produced by mnsun.com editor Greg Huff. Article edited by Sun-Current Managing Editor Bonnie Boberg.)
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actually the pins are still made of wood they have to be in order to be sanctioned but they are covered in a composite
blinds88 4 days ago
Just went there today and I almost one an iPad 2! Twice!
AKSoapy29 5 months ago
i work there!!!
freezbabi 1 year ago
I've worked here since they opened.
libtechsk8er 1 year ago