How much does it cost to build a bowling alley in Europe?

How much to build a bowling alley? We're often asked this question. There's no simple answer, as it depends on your building's existing facilities, the number of lanes you'll be installing, the quality of the equipment, and the required renovations.

First, there are a few things to keep in mind. We recommend avoiding purchasing or leasing buildings without utilities, as connecting these can be time-consuming and expensive. We also recommend against undertaking renovations, maintenance, and installation yourself. We strongly recommend hiring experts and consultants with experience in similar projects; this will increase the likelihood that your project will be completed on time and within budget.

So, what about the price? Assuming you have a vacant site and offer various services, a rough estimate is between £1 million and £2 million. Regardless of the number of lanes you install (up to 20 lanes), most construction costs remain the same.

Before you begin construction on your bowling alley

You'll need to spend approximately £100,000 upfront. Once you've secured funding and secured a location, there are a few steps you need to complete before you can begin construction.

· Appoint a project consultant experienced in leisure construction to help manage the project cost-effectively, including providing specific assistance with the following tasks:

  · Planning permission, including potential acoustic surveys and traffic impact assessments.

  ·Appointing and managing appropriate contractors.

  ·Specifying and procuring appropriate fire prevention/suppression measures.

  ·Specifying and procuring appropriate intrusion alarms and CCTV.

  ·Providing and managing a cost-effective project budget.

·Hire a hospitality and leisure consultant with experience in site management in your chosen field to ensure the building design supports efficient operations. They should also be able to provide a variety of other services, including:

  ·Securing a premises license.

  ·Securing the best rates from food and beverage suppliers.

· Appointing an experienced real estate attorney to review your lease agreement.

Get the essentials ready.

As with most projects, good foundations and planning significantly enhance the likelihood of success. Therefore, space planning is a key foundation for a successful shopping center and can significantly impact your labor costs. Your hospitality and leisure consultant should be able to review your site layout, assess the placement of common facilities, and consider your site requirements to present a coherent site plan and layout. Experienced consultants understand the specifics of different industries regarding foot traffic, storage needs, transaction volume, and how all of these factors impact staffing.

Toilets

If you're lucky enough to secure a site with existing restrooms, that's great. Don't move them unless absolutely necessary—it's expensive, and they may be there for a legitimate reason. If not, your project consultant will be able to advise on the optimal location and number of restrooms, based on existing public facilities and regulations.

Restrooms are a good example of how desired finishes can affect construction costs and budgets:

 · Bronze: Residential renovation. Fresh paint, a wicker basket for hand towels and hand soap, and some laminate flooring.

 ·Silver: Low-End Commercial. Commercial-grade flooring, a hand dryer, and a wall-mounted soap dispenser. Commercial, basic lighting fixtures and accessories. LED lighting.

 ·Gold: High-End Commercial/Custom. Customized vanities, impressive lighting, a high-end, ultra-quiet hand dryer, and more.

You need to avoid the bronze method. Using residential flooring is unacceptable and will open you up to costly legal claims. You'll waste a fortune unclogging a toilet clogged with hand towels, leaving paper towels strewn throughout the bathroom, and hand sanitizer constantly disappearing.

Avoiding the bronze method applies to all areas of the building—cutting costs in areas where customers can touch and feel will reduce the chargeable value per item over the building's lifespan.

Bar

You need to determine the right location from the outset, as relocating the bar may require permits. If you already have a bar area, consider bypassing it—renovations are generally much cheaper than construction work!

You will need the following elements:

 · An air-conditioned basement cooled to between 11 and 13 degrees Celsius.

 · A beer cellar large enough to store enough beer to get from one delivery window to the next, but no larger—cooling electricity is expensive!

 · A unit that forms the "front bar" area for dispensing beverages.

 ·Buy modular, off-the-shelf items and, if possible, install the bar around them—this is cheaper than custom-built and can be disassembled and cleaned. Decor—including an attractive back bar with effective display options.
 ·Brewery Partner. If you're already a venue owner, this should be straightforward. If you're new to the industry, hiring a consultant to negotiate on your behalf can be advantageous; otherwise, you might be able to secure a lower market price. The brewery partner should also provide and install the chiller, pump, and plumbing system free of charge.

Kitchen

The kitchen layout is crucial, as it significantly impacts the flow of customers and staff and takes up far more space than the kitchen itself. In a casual setting, don't be tempted by fancy "open" or "showcase" kitchens—they're not only expensive and take up more space, but unlike restaurants, where they're used during fixed "service" hours, maintaining their true aesthetic can be challenging even for the best chefs. Peak hours bring a constant stream of customers into the kitchen, leaving little time for reconfiguration between busy periods. Remember, even if you decide to work with a third-party provider, they still need a kitchen.

There are some important aspects to consider.

 ·This is a legal requirement. A ventless kitchen is expensive but can effectively overcome issues with listed buildings or other exhaust duct wiring. Equipment needs to be high-quality, durable, and reliable—as it will be used 24/7. We offer ventless equipment.
 ·Storage space is affected by the menu you choose, transaction volume, and delivery frequency.
 ·Calculate how many crisps you'll need from one delivery to the next, convert this into boxes, and then convert this into the required freezer capacity.
 ·Don't set up a separate delivery area. Orders should be taken at a staffed point of sale.
 ·For the reasons mentioned above, keep your menu simple and concise—but always use high-quality products.

You'll also need:

 · Signage: This can be expensive and may require planning permission.

 · AV Equipment: Check equipment licenses for this type of music and any municipal noise restrictions.

 · Wi-Fi: High-quality, commercial-grade Wi-Fi is essential for modern businesses. Be sure to collect customer data (and allow them to opt-in) for remarketing.

 · Office Space: Even cashless businesses need a small, lockable office for document storage.

 · Reception: Whenever possible, the reception should be an extension of the bar to reduce staffing requirements during off-peak trading hours.

 · Doors: Doors must be closed unless in use to maintain temperature and reduce noise. This may mean that some venues require automatic doors to comply with regulations.
 · Storage: This area is used for storing consumables such as napkins, spare glasses, party bag contents, menus and marketing materials, as well as paint cans and cleaning equipment. · Party Room: This is separate from the main event space for children's or adult parties. Consider creating private and semi-private areas. In some venues, these areas can have separate bars, restrooms, and event facilities.
 · Other Activities: This is crucial because multi-event venues typically increase customer traffic, repeat visits, and dwell time.

Expandable Facilities and Accessories for Bowling Alleys

The above items and areas are essential regardless of the number of lanes (at least around 12 lanes). However, the number of fixtures and accessories will vary depending on the number of lanes.

Decorative Style
Furniture
Lighting
Flooring

Bowling Equipment

Of course, we'd be remiss not to discuss bowling balls and equipment. As with everything else in your project, you need to decide for yourself what level of quality you're willing to pay .

You need to consider the build quality of the equipment, ease of use for customers and staff, and after-sales service (e.g., are parts available in the UK? Do they have a local on-site support team?). Cheaper equipment often has long-term problems, can be quite expensive to replace, and may not even comply with relevant safety directives.

There are a variety of EPOS and reservation systems available on the market (both online and offline rating and booking), but they will impact your staffing levels and the service you offer, Flying Bowling has been one of the top companies in the bowling equipment industry. Over the years, we have focused on researching and developing bowling string pinsetters, pinsetters, and ball return systems, as well as complete solutions for bowling alleys worldwide. We promise to always provide good quality, new ideas, and low prices. This has made us a trusted partner to bowling centers in many countries..

Before the Arena Opens

 · Staff: You'll likely need around £50,000 to recruit and train staff. This will cover the two weeks of building and operating the venue, as well as management time to induct staff.

 · Stock costs for the bar and kitchen: around £30,000. Remember, all those display bottles aren't high-volume stock; they need to be sold somewhere! Cash in the safe (unless, of course, there's no cash).
 · PR, marketing, and networking: This is an area where you can really spend almost anything, depending on your approach, but expect at least £50,000.

In the long run, cheap things often cost more.

When it comes to running a bowling business, we can guarantee that blindly pursuing the cheapest option will never pay off in the long run. It's like buying a car—a Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz—you get what you pay for. Cheaper models will offer lower quality, lower performance, less usability, and likely be more expensive to maintain over time. And the resale value will certainly be much lower...

If you don't have £1 million to invest, things will probably be tough. If you do, use it wisely: hire experts/consultants, plan well, use high-quality, industrial-grade materials, and don't skimp on your event equipment. With effective leadership and management, you should be able to recoup your initial investment within three years and run a profitable business that people will enjoy visiting and working in for many years to come.

Flying Bowling is a professional bowling equipment manufacturer, providing one-stop bowling alley design, equipment production, installation, maintenance and other comprehensive supporting services. Please contact us to obtain a free bowling alley design guide.