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Lights Out At Thunderbird

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By LOIS KINDLE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

Updated: 09/27/2007 06:55 pm

RUSKIN - President Bob Gross and the officers of the Kings and Queens Mixed League got a big surprise Sept. 19 when they gathered in the parking lot of the Thunderbird Lanes.

There to discuss upcoming league play, the group couldn't enter the Ruskin landmark. The building was locked tight. A handwritten note posted on its door read, 'The Thunderbird is no longer open. In case of emergency, call ...'

'It was a shock,' Gross said. 'I've bowled there for 19 years, and my wife for 18. We had no warning.'

Ronald Morcom was equally dismayed.

'There are 70 people in the league,' he said. 'All are over 60, and one is 92 years old. We met not just for the bowling, but also for the camaraderie.

'The Thunderbird was a meeting place for us all.'

Owners Patti Nugent and her husband, Gary, said the decision to close was difficult.

'We feel bad for the bowlers,' she said, adding it was strictly a business move.

After completely gutting the building and remodeling it after they purchased it three years ago, the couple were faced with replacing equipment installed more than 50 years ago.

'It was built in the 1950s,' Nugent said. 'The machinery was so old it wasn't repairable. After a lot of consideration, we decided it was just too much. We would never have seen our money back.

Closing the Thunderbird 'was purely an economic decision,' she said. 'Taxes and insurance had skyrocketed.'

Meanwhile, the Nugents - who also own the Copper Penny Restaurant in Wimauma - are exploring options for the 6.5-acre property.

However, eight miles away, construction of a 42,000-square-foot bowling center called The Alley is under way in Riverview.

Owner Jeff Boje said the facility is a hybrid - a combination of a traditional bowling alley like the Thunderbird, a boutique bowling center like Channelside's Splitsville in Tampa, and a family entertainment center like Chucky E. Cheese.

At a cost of $7.5 million, The Alley will have 24 traditional lanes for league bowling and eight lanes set at a 90-degree angle to the other lanes that will be used for private parties and corporate events; a sports pub and full-service restaurant; 5,000-square-foot gaming and arcade room with redemption area; and an ice-cream parlor.

Boje's family owns the Brandon Crossroads bowling center, which was built in 1990. The family has been in the business since 1958 and at one time owned and operated 11 bowling centers.

The Alley is expected to open by the end of January at Lincoln Road south of Big Bend Road.
THUNDERBIRD LANES
WHERE: 116 21st St. S.E., Ruskin

OWNERS: Gary and Patti Nugent

OPENED: 1950s

CLOSED: Sept. 19

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.

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