Texarkana's two bowling alleys, Holiday Bowl on the Arkansas-side of State Line and College Bowl on the Texas-side, have opened to the public and bowlers have emerged from their homes and have taken to the lanes.
Both lanes, owned by Rick Goins, closed March 20 and reopened to the public on May 28. They both have rules they currently have to adhere to in the COVID-19 environment, but the alleys and their bowlers are making the most of it.
"We still have league play," said Larry Himes, manager of Holiday Bowl. "Arkansas-side won't have a summer league, though Holiday Bowl's summer leage is mostly a senior league. The Texas-side, College Bowl, will still have a summer league, split over two days."
Among the other rules they are both currently operating under, there has to be an empty lane between each bowling group. Each lane is limited to five people.
"Normal lane limit is eight," Himes said.
The laser tag arena at Holiday Bowl currently only can accommodate ten people in the arena at one time. When things are fully open, that limit is 24.
"We are also operating at reduced hours. Our employees wear masks. Markings everywhere remind customers of social distancing. Our food service people always wear gloves anyway, so that is not a change. Bowlers are asked to leave balls in place when they finish their game. We clean them and put them away. And, as usual, hand sanitizer stations are easily available," he said.
"Our customers were ready to come back and we still have kids bowling for free," he said. "We are just limited by the previously mentioned rules."
(College Bowl is located at 2424 College Drive, Texarkana, Texas; Holiday Bowl is at 3408 N. State Line Ave., Texarkana, Arkansas.)