LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – One of the nation’s bastions for bowling is still mired in the COVID 19 quagmire.
Centers for knocking down the tenpins have been closed since Governor Whitmer started the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” provisions in March, and while other business entities have been able to reopen, the lanes remain dark. On Wednesday, members of the Bowling Centers Association of Michigan held a protest on the steps of the state capitol to highlight just how precarious their situation is and to allow them to reopen.
What really galls Phil Huffman of Holland’s BAM! Entertainment Center is that casinos, restaurants and taverns are open and bowling alleys aren’t in Michigan, especially since they are in neighboring states. “Bowling centers tend to carry a lot of baggage from years ago, when they were dirty, smoky places,” he said during a Wednesday interview on “WHTC Morning News.” “All of our centers across the state have risen to the occasion; we don’t have smoking anymore, we’re very clean, and we’re adept at disinfecting shoes. It’s a totally different landscape from what it has been.”
Huffman added that, since it would take a couple of weeks to prepare his facility before he would be comfortable having patrons return safely, he would like to see the Governor allow the reopening of bowling centers by Labor Day.
Whether the Governor will listen to the protesters is problematic. Leddy Robert, a spokesman for Whitmer’s office, told the Oakland County Times that the Governor is “continuing to monitor cases and make decisions based on the best data and science. As she has said all along, she will adjust as necessary when it comes to reengaging Michigan’s economy safely.”
