Students looking for an alternative to the nighttime bar scene will soon have a new option in College Park: the bowling alley.

Within a few weeks, AMF College Park Lanes, the bowling alley north of the campus on Route 1, will begin selling hard liquor in addition to the beer and wine it has sold for years, said College Park District 2 Councilman Robert Catlin. 

On July 1, AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., merged with New York-based Bowlmor to create new company Bowlmor AMF, according to a Bowlmor press release announcing the merger. Bowlmor AMF is the world’s largest operator of bowling centers, with nearly 300 and revenues of about $450 million.

With the merger, Bowlmor AMF hopes to become “the ultimate American leisure company,” Brett Parker, Bowlmor AMF’s vice chairman, and chief financial officer stated in the news release. 

The pursuit of a full liquor license at the College Park alley is possibly intended to keep pace with other Bowlmor locations, which have already been selling hard liquor, said Marvin Byrd, shift leader at AMF College Park Lanes.  

The merge also brought other changes, including reduced hours. The center used to open at 9 a.m. during the week, but now it opens at noon to draw in more bowlers during the afternoon, when it typically experiences downtime, Byrd said.  

Some senior bowling leagues, such as local group The Friendly Senior League, aren’t happy about the new hours. They used to bowl in the morning, but yesterday, they had to come in at noon. League members also expressed concern about the expanded liquor sales.   

“I think it will bring people up here that will hang around and drink too much,” said senior league bowler Shirley Kruse. 

Fellow league bowler Elton Wiser said selling liquor doesn’t fit with the alley’s purpose or atmosphere. 

“I don’t like it,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a recreation center, not a beer joint or a liquor store. It’s going to bring a lot more drunks in.”

Wiser bowls four times a week — three times during the day and once at night. The bowling alley has some “power drinkers at night,” he said.

However, Catlin said he would be surprised if the full liquor license significantly changes the establishment.

“I just don’t see a bowling alley as a place where people would hang out and drink,” he said. “You can’t bowl when you’re drunk anyways.”

The new license won’t affect the area, Catlin said, because the bowling alley isn’t always busy, and it isn’t located near many residences. 

“I don’t think it’s a big deal; they’ve had a beer and wine license for as long as I can remember,” he said.

Catlin doesn’t think the bowling alley is a popular spot for students now, but junior communication major Arielle Kroloff said she would definitely consider going if it transformed into a better student hangout.

“I think it’d be a good activity instead of just going to the bar,” she said. “I don’t have a car, so it’d be difficult to get there, but I’d definitely be more inclined to go if they sell liquor.”

She added that TerpZone in Stamp Student Union tends to be popular with freshmen, so a public bowling alley, such as AMF College Park Lanes, might be a better option for upperclassmen who want to drink and hang out instead of visiting the typical nightlife options downtown.

Catlin said bowling alleys in the Washington area are catering to a younger crowd, too. Bowlmor also owns a location in Bethesda and another in Rockville. 

“[The full liquor license] certainly is something that could be a transition for them,” he said, but added it would take “more than that” to transform the business.

“[The liquor license] could be one step in making things happen, but it’s not a big step, I don’t think,” he said.