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Lamented
Bowl-O-Drome gets
new lease on life
The Moiliili lanes will operate
By Treena Shapiro
under a month-to-month deal
with Hawaiian Home Lands
Star-BulletinBowlers will be scoring strikes and spares again in Moiliili next month, when the former Stadium Bowl-O-Drome reopens under new management and a new name.
The University Bowl-O-Drome could open as early as next week, but there's no telling how long it will last.
The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns the property, has given KN Hawaii Inc. a month-to-month lease to operate the bowling alley while the department determines a use for the land.
"We're managers, caretakers of the property," said Sam Cluney, one of the alley's new operators. "We're just going to spend a few dollars and try to make a fun place for people to come."
Since the Stadium Bowl-O-Drome closed on New Year's Eve, some regulars have moved on.
Valerie Narikiyo, 61, was among them. After 30 years of using the Moiliili lanes, she switched to a league at the Waialae Bowl this year.
Narikiyo isn't sure whether she'll come back, but she's happy to hear the alley is reopening.
"A lot of senior citizens will be happy," Narikiyo said. "It's a central area. It's more convenient for them to go bowling."
Michael Kiczek, the new manager, is banking on the leagues returning, and said the alley will offer discounts to senior and junior leagues, as well as schools that need a place to practice.
"A lot of people were sad when the place closed, but if they don't support us when we come back, the investment goes down the drain," he said.
Kiczek said there will be changes at the alley: a small snack bar instead of a restaurant, new paint, better lighting and, with luck, improved air conditioning. The Hawaiian motif murals that grace the Stadium Bowl-O-Drome's walls are still in place, he noted.
While the new management will try to re-create the alley's former atmosphere, it will also try to make it friendlier for younger bowlers by providing 8- and 10-pound bowling balls in addition to the 14- to 16-pound balls left by the former owners.
"It seemed a shame that when the kids came in, or the seniors without their own balls, or maybe even some wahines, they would have a hard time bowling," Kiczek said. "You eliminate a portion of bowlers without light balls."
Francis Apoliona, a spokesman for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, couldn't predict how long the new bowling alley will be open, but said the department wants to keep someone on the property for security purposes. "We're just looking at a limited lease. We call it interim use," he said. The Hawaiian Homes Commission will ultimately determine how the land will be used.
"It has to be something that's going to benefit the trust," Apoliona said.
But that doesn't rule out making the Bowl-O-Drome permanent. "A bowling alley could if it brings in enough income."
