New bowling alley planned in North Liberty

Posted on Oct 02, 2009 by David DeWitte.

A $3.5 million project in North Liberty will be the Corridor’s first new bowling alley in decades.

Construction will begin this fall on Big Time Bowl, a 24-lane bowling complex that will include a sports bar, large game room, and two party rooms.

The project is led by Dave Metzler, the former proprietor of Coral Lanes in Coralville, and Kevin Roth, a longtime youth bowling coach who recently sold his software company.

Coral Lanes, which Metzler operated under a lease, closed after sustaining damage in the June 2008 Iowa River flooding.

Roth said the men selected North Liberty for the bowling complex because market research showed that the location was within a 20-minute drive of most bowlers in the Iowa City-Coralville and Cedar Rapids markets.

A key feature of the project will be eight “boutique” lanes that will be available to the general public nearly all of the time, allowing family groups or casual bowlers to drop in.

Big Time Bowl will be located behind MercyCare North Liberty on the northeast corner of Lininger Lane and Penn Court.

A site plan for the project was approved on Sept. 22 by the North Liberty City Council, along with a five-year deferral of the city’s requirement for an exterior masonry wall for the back of the building. The delay was allowed so the building can be expanded in the future without incurring unnecessary cost.

Septagon Construction Co. will be general contractor for the 27,200-square-foot structure, which could be under construction this fall. Roth expects the project to be completed by June or July 2010.

The bowling complex will employ about five full-time and 15 part-time.

Bowling is gaining popularity as a high school and college sport, Roth said. He said Big Time Bowl will offer programs developed by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America to introduce bowling into school curriculum and help schools offer the sport.