Sports Events in Iligan City

2 more images

Although many may not consider this as a tourist attraction, as someone who worked in the Bowling Business during the boom years of the 1960's and beyond and for those who enjoy bowling, you may find this place as interesting and pleasureable as I have.

Although it has been quite some time since I was actively engaged in the field of servicing Automatic Pinsetters and related equipment, being in a foriegn country I wanted to see what kind of equipment was being used, the vintage and condition of it.

I had the opportunity to visit Midtown Bowling Lanes. This is a second floor walk up installation. It was about mid-afternoon so it was not busy and gave me a good chance to get a good look at the place. Much to my surprise and amazement there were no automatic pinsetters. This is the first time I had ever been in a public bowling establishment that uses Pinboys ! It is Duck Pin Bowling and I believe it is a 20 or 24 lane house. It is not air conditioned although I found the recessed oscilating fans above the bowlers area to be somewhat effective. By comparison to any other public bowling center I had ever been in, this was like turning back time. I was also allowed for a few moments to view the pinboys in action behind the masking units.

There is a snack bar although I did not sample anything other than a bottle of water as I had eaten lunch shortly before arriving at Midtown Lanes.

This is a very popular recreation facility amoungst the residents of Iligan City and they do have leagues and tournaments here as well as open bowling.

I bowled 3 games there and this is the first experience I had with Duck Pin Bowling, slightly different from 10 Pin which is what I have always been accoustomed to. I was with my Iligan friends and really had an enjoyable time.

In knowing the costs involved in the operation of bowling centers in the USA if this bowling center was equipped with Automatic Pinseters and Automatic Scorers which has become the norm in many parts of the world, this bowling center would probably no longer exist. It cost something like the equavilent of ( US ) 30 cents per game at Midtown Lanes making it fit in with the local economy. If automatic equipment with its additional operating and maintenance costs were here, this bowling center most likely could no longer exist.

While hundreds of Bowling Centers in the USA have had to close their doors and dissapear forever due to continual skyrocketing operating costs and other factors, Midtown Bowling Lanes in Iligan City keeps on Rockin' !

Photo Credit: IRBO

Equipment: The only thing you may want to bring with you is your camera