The San José State Bowling and Billiards Center, located in the Student Union building, reintroduced a concession stand on Monday, helping to bring more visitors and revenue to the center.
Named Lane 15, the new stand offers new options for food on campus.
Lane 15, a part of Spartan Eats, was reintroduced by the official Student Union page after originally being promoted in the summer, according to a social media post by Spartan Eats’ Instagram.
The reintroduction of the snack stand gives staff and visitors a chance at accessible food while at the center.
Lane 15 features a plethora of snacks, including soft pretzels, nacho and other quick bites within student budgets.
Ashley Tran, an employee of the center for three years, has noticed the increase in visitors during her employment.
“Customer interaction is really important,” Tran said. “We have a deep sense of community, and it’s an easy way to find people.”
The Bowling and Billiards Center experienced a lack of visitors and revenue after the COVID-19 shutdowns, according to SJSU annual reports from 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
The Center had a significant increase in both revenue and visitors due to lockdowns being lifted, as shown in later annual reports.
The annual reports for 2023-2024, unfortunately, showed a lack of students using the space for events and games, but gradually, a 14% increase in revenue came in.
Aside from revenue, the use of the Bowling and Billiards Center has also risen compared to previous years. There was an 800% increase in events unrelated to SJSU, according to the same annual report.
The Spartan Daily made several attempts to receive a comment on the updated revenue and visitor count, but the active Bowling and Billiards Center management declined to comment.
“I feel like business has been growing a lot, and we get a lot more students,” Tran said.
Although the center continues to regain popularity, the bowling club team also helps give students more to look forward to in the center.
Christian Cerrato, a second-year civil engineering major, has bowled for about a year and shared interest in the team.
“I recently got into it as something fun I’d do with my friends. I found out the school had a bowling team, so I started practicing,” Cerrato said. “For the past few months, I’ve been here almost every day.”
He said that the SJSU bowling club team is a competitive position to get into. Cerrato also talked about practicing for the tryouts.
“Tryouts start tomorrow, so I’m here to get a little more practice in,” said Cerrato. “The most challenging part is making it, I’m not for sure guaranteed, and that’s why I’m trying to get more practice in.”
The Bowling and Billiards Center has remained affordable; bowling prices for students are $3.25 per person and $2.50 for shoe rental, according to an SJSU webpage.
Bowling club team tryouts for the academic year begin Sept. 4 and continue through Sept. 7, according to an Aug. 9 SJSU Bowling Club Facebook post.
Despite COVID-19 disrupting the center’s visitors, staff are positive about the number of new and returning visitors, with the addition of Lane 15 hopefully aiding the count.
“There’s a ton of people that come here to bowl, or study regularly, and we love those friendships,” said Tran.
