Another Bowlero opens on LI

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The former AMF Sayville Lanes has been transformed into Bowlero Sayville.

The Sayville location is the second bowling facility on Long Island to be redesigned into Bowlmor AMF’s new entertainment brand. The first was the Bowlero in Commack which was unveiled a year ago.

The remodeled Bowlero Sayville will host a grand opening event on Saturday, Oct. 28 with an appearance by New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz. The center now features large video screens at the end of its 60 black-light lanes, new décor and a high-tech arcade with 40 games.

Bowlmor AMF owns 13 bowling centers on Long Island–nearly half of all of the Island’s bowling alleys–and eventually plans to convert all of theirs to the Bowlero concept. The Bowlero upgrades cost at least $1 million apiece, according to a company executive. There are currently nearly 40 Bowlero locations, with 80 projected to open by 2020.

Bowlmor AMF is the sport’s largest operator. Bowlmor got its start in 1997 with one upscale boutique bowling alley near Manhattan’s Union Square. The company expanded in 2013 when Bowlmor acquired AMF following its second bankruptcy in 10 years.

In 2014, Bowlmor AMF acquired Brunswick and now has more than 300 bowling centers throughout the U.S., as well as a handful in Canada and Mexico.  The private equity firm behind Bowlmor AMF’s growth is iStar Financial, which owns most of the real estate that Bowlmor AMF leases for its centers.