The year 1963, it seems, was the apex for bowling alleys in the United States. That year, there were 11,476 operating in America.

By 2010, though, the total of centers had dwindled to 5,361, according to “Bowling 2035,” a report by Joe Schumacker, a Florida bowling center owner and consultant. The Iowa Bowling Proprietors Association today lists some 111 member bowling centers throughout the state.

Part of the reason was there are simply fewer bowlers. In 1983, there were some 8.4 million “competitive” bowlers, as reported by Schumacker, but last year there were only 3.1 million such bowlers.

That’s why bowling centers of today are as likely to focus as much on a nightclub-like atmosphere and non-competitive events as on traditional league-based bowling.

When Westdale Bowling Center owner BJ Trickey began in the business in the 1970s, there were at least four more bowling centers in Cedar Rapids. Some closed due to a lack of business and others were claimed by development projects.

Trickey attributes the gradual decline in bowling centers to much more competition for recreational and competitive league dollars. He works with a marketing company to keep current on bowling center trends for drawing customers into his business.

That’s a big change from the 1970s, he said. Westdale is more of non-league bowling center catering to the occasional bowler, parties and fundraisers such as Junior Achievement and Special Olympics. The bowling center also offers laser tag, which is unusual for an Iowa bowling center, he said.

“We’re competing with other entertainment. The more entertainment that we have, the better,” Trickey said.

BJ Trickey puts away a pair of bowling shoes at Westdale Bowling Center in Cedar Rapids. BJ and his wife Kim own the bowling alley. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

Bowling centers were losing 15- to 25-year-old clients until extreme bowling — also known as cosmic bowling — became a trend 10 to 15 years ago, he said. With flashing black lights, fog machines and music videos playing on big screens, this type of bowling is more like going to a nightclub, Trickey said.

Another big change to bowling is the addition of bumpers in the gutters for young children. Even 3- and 4-year-olds can knock down pins every time, Trickey said.

Automatic scoring — no more papers and pencils and trying to do complicated bowling calculations — and instant replay of shots also add to the excitement of modern-day bowling, he said.

“When a little kid gets a strike, they go nuts. They can see themselves getting a strike over and over,” Trickey said.

He’s busiest during the colder months of January through March.

Maintaining the lanes and mechanical pin setters and paying 20 full-time and part-time employees can be costly. Utilities for the 40,000 square feet occupied by Westdale often top Trickey’s overhead expenses.

“When it’s hot in the summertime, our electric bill is $7,000,” Trickey noted.

Being part of state and national bowling associations helps bowling center proprietors with group buying discounts, promotions from food and beverage vendors that draw in bowlers, and education seminars on everything from marketing to human resources issues and insurance, he said.

Leagues used to account for 80 percent to 90 percent of the bowlers when Trickey began in the business in 1971. Bowling leagues typically run about 30 weeks, and nowadays most people don’t want to make that sort of time commitment, Trickey said.

Yet some bowling centers thrive on a mostly league-based business. Brad Huff, owner of Colonial Lanes in Iowa City, employs 15 to 25 full-time and part-time employees, with numbers varying with the seasons.

His 30,000-square-foot facility is the only bowling center in the immediate Iowa City area since 2008, when a 12-lane bowling center in Coralville flooded and closed.

Huff’s 24 lanes are primarily used for league bowling, with some times set aside for open bowling. People who get hooked on bowling can focus on technique and build on that.

Still, bowling is not the same today as it was 20 years ago when people were lined up to get into leagues, Huff recalled. The key to keeping bowling centers popular is to draw in younger bowlers.

Attracting those younger players is just as important for small centers. Although he sees a lot of multigenerational bowling families, Keystone Turner Lanes manager Michael Hand worries that there are fewer people to replace retiring bowlers.

A youth league starts in November at Keystone.

The center’s six lanes are an expansion on the four-lane center that existed before a 2006 fire. But Hand knows that if Keystone, in Benton County, were closer to a larger city, the small center might not be able to compete with the larger alleys.

He grew up around the bowling business and became the center’s manager about four years ago. Hand focuses on league bowling, with some time set aside for parties and open bowling.

The lanes are busiest from the end of August until mid-April, when leagues take over. As the weather warms up and people head to the outdoors, sometimes the lanes only open when bowlers call to make a reservation.

In addition to bowling, the Keystone site features a large dance hall, full kitchen and bar. Rental income balances out loss in revenue from bowling in the summer.

It stays busy with weddings, steak frys and private events just for league members.

“You run your specials. You try to make people feel like it’s our privilege to have them here,” Hand said. “You’ve got to make them feel like we’re here for them.”