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Tag: 20th Century Bowling Lanes

Collister Center looks to swap out bowling lanes for roller skating rink

After a false start in Meridian a year ago, Scott and Tammy Stevens expect to open a roller skating rink by Nov. 1 in the Collister Center on State Street in Boise.

Treasure Valley Skate would replace the recently closed 20th Century Bowling Lanes, which has occupied the 20,732-square-foot space since it was built in 1960.

Bowling alley General Manager Lucas Hohnstein said building owners told him Treasure Valley Skate offered higher lease payments. Scott Stevens said he was told 20th Century Bowling was leaving no matter what.

“Neither of us were told the whole story,” Stevens said.

But however it happened, the bowling alley is leaving. The 20th Century lease expires Aug. 31.

A preliminary look at Treasure Valley Skate on a facade that has said 20th Century Bowling Lanes for 57 years. Image courtesy of Scott Stevens.
A preliminary look at Treasure Valley Skate on a facade that has said 20th Century Bowling Lanes for 57 years. Image courtesy of Scott Stevens.

“I absolutely wish and wanted the bowling alley to stay,” said Stephen Jaeger, founder and managing partner of Argonaut Investments of Corte Madera, Calif., which acquired Collister Center in 2015. “There was some question about the long-term viability of the bowling alley. Along came Treasure Valley Skate with a long-term plan and the ability to update an aging facility.”

Treasure Valley Skate has an agreement in principle with Argonaut but a lease has not been signed, Jaeger added.

The Stevens and their two children were a roller skating family for years in Seattle. Then they moved to Boise to be closer to his father after his mother died. His parents had retired to Eagle.

“When we moved here, the first week of settling in we went roller skating at the Nampa Rollerdrome,” Scott Stevens said. “We were 21 miles away from the Rollerdrome. It hit us clearly that this place was in need of another roller rink.”

The Nampa Rollerdrome, open since 1948, is the only other roller skating rink in the Treasure Valley.

A year ago the Stevens announced they would open Meridian Skate on Kalispell Road, but Stevens said that deal fell through. They needed a large, clearstanding building without support poles or columns. They also considered the vacant Kmart on Fairview Avenue before hearing about the 20th Century Bowling Lanes space.

The Stevens will install a 140-by-80-foot maple skating floor that will be available for roller hockey and roller derby practice sessions. Stevens said they also want to be associated with schools, PTAs and churches.

Treasure Valley Skate will have three large party rooms, a pro shop, a novelty shop, arcades, concessions and a full-time live DJ  along with new lighting and sound systems.

No architect or general contractor has been selected.

Scott Stevens has worked in the recreational vehicle business for 30 years and is vice president at Treasure Valley Skate. Tammy Stevens has had a variety of jobs, including school bus driver, and is CEO and operations manager at Treasure Valley Skate.

Along with the Nampa Rollerdrome, the other roller skating rinks in Idaho are in Pocatello, Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls.

 

For sale: mid-century bowling fixtures

For sale: all the equipment you need to open your own 24-lane bowling alley.

20th Century Bowling Lanes General Manager Lucas Hohnstein hopes to find a buyer for the bowling equipment at his business before 20th Century’s lease expires at the end of August. That way, Hohnstein won’t have to store it.

The last pins will fly June 30 as 20th Century closes for business after 57 years at State Street and Collister Drive. 20th Century’s lease was not renewed.

The new tenant will be Treasure Valley Skate, a newly established roller skating rink.

“We’re not moving or relocating,” said Hohnstein, grandson of 20th Century owner Mona Lindeen and great grandson of Emerson Maxson, who first established a bowling alley in 1937 in the Rose Room in the Union Block in downtown Boise.

Hohnstein is confident he can find a buyer for the equipment.

The same pin setting system has been in place since 20th Century Bowling Lanes opened in 1960. Photo courtesy of Lucas Hohnstein.
The same pin setting system has been in place since 20th Century Bowling Lanes opened in 1960. Photo courtesy of Lucas Hohnstein.

“Bowling center equipment is sold every day,” Hohnstein said. “Bowling centers are opened and closed every day. Bowling is the No. 1 participatory sport across the world.”

20th Century Bowling Lanes has had the same pin-setting system in place since the 24-lane bowling alley was built in 1960. The synthetic wood lanes are only 10 years old, but they were installed on top of the original pine and maple lanes that still lie underneath.

Hohnstein found out May 30 that his 10-year lease would not be renewed because Treasure Valley Skate offered to pay more for the 20,732-square-foot space that Maxson built.

Treasure Valley Skate at first announced  a “grand opening date of no later than September 1st, 2017” on Facebook. Since then its website has moved the opening date to Nov. 1.

The Nampa Rollerdome, open since 1948, is the only other roller skating rink in the Treasure Valley.

Treasure Valley Skate declined an interview request for this article.

“This time is about the 20th Century and allowing them all the respect they deserve for such a staple in our community for so many years,” Treasure Valley Skate co-owner Scott Stevens said in a Facebook message. “We think our quietness is respectful and proper… This is their time for sure.”