Strike!
If you hear that word, you’re either at a bowling alley or a labor dispute. But today, we are talking about bowling.
It’s an interesting sport with a rich history. An ancient form of bowling dates back to 5200 BC in Egypt. If you believe what you see on “The Flintstones,” by the year 10,000 BC, bowling was a popular sport in Bedrock.
Modern bowling dates back to 16th century England. Today, more than 120 million people in 90 countries bowl, including 70 million folks in the United States.
Northern Kentucky has eight great bowling alleys to choose from, so if you’re looking to get out, have some fun and maybe burn a few calories at the same time, check these places out.
All prices listed are per person.
Florence Bowling Center
7500 Sussex Drive, Florence
859-817-9332
This non-smoking bowling center has 36 lanes equipped with automatic scoring.
The bowling alley’s front counter that sells soda, juice, pizza, pretzel bites, nachos, submarine sandwiches, cheesy bread, and French fries. They also vend beer, mixed drinks, liquor, and alcoholic slushies. They’ve even got USB phone charging stations at every lane.
Florence Bowling Center has vintage and arcade games and hosts bowling leagues, bowling tournaments, and open bowling. They offer leagues for seniors (50 and older), women, men, mixed (coed), and A/Y (adults/youths). Each team has three to five members. League duration ranges from 16 to 36 weeks and costs $12 to $25 per week.
Open bowling is available daily and each day has different prices. The cost is $12 for three hours on Monday, $2 per game on Tuesday, $10 for two hours on Wednesday and Thursday, $12 for two hours on Friday and Saturday, and $8 for two hours on Sunday. Shoe rental is always $3.50. Hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m.
La Ru Bowling Lanes
2443 Alexandria Pike, Highland Heights
859-781-2111
La Ru is a non-smoking bowling center that has 16 lanes, a fully-stocked bar and a snack shop that offers nachos, hot dogs, pretzels, and burritos.
They offer leagues for men, women, and coed teams. La Ru’s bowling leagues usually have an eight to 36-week duration. Each league sets its price, with the average cost $15 to $20 per week. Open bowling is available, too, and costs $4 per game Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $4.50 per game Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to closing, and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and $3.75 per game all day on Sunday.
Cosmic Bowling is offered from Thursday through Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and costs $5.50 per game. Bowling shoe rental always costs $4. Their website lists monthly bowling specials. Hours of operation are Monday to Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Rotolo | Bowling Bocce Eatery
1 Levee Way Suite 1112, Newport
859-652-7250
Rotolo is a smoke-free bowling alley, restaurant, and bar. Their menu includes appetizers, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, salads, and desserts. It has indoor and outdoor bocce courts, shuffleboard, foosball tables, air hockey, giant Jenga, table tennis, giant chess, giant checkers, ring toss, giant beer pong, Tic-Tac-Toe, corn hole, and Giant Yahtzee.
Rotolo has live music and DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. The venue has 16 lanes equipped with automatic scoring, with four of those lanes are located in a private lounge. Bowling costs $11 per game.
Cost is half-off Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Bowling shoe rental costs $4 and bowling socks are sold for $3 per pair. Both are required. Hours of operation are Sunday through Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Southern Lanes Sports Center
7634 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria
859-635-2121
The sports center offers bowling, volleyball, billiards, cornhole, darts, horseshoes, outdoor basketball, an arcade room, karaoke, and a full-service bar that offers food and live music.
Southern Lanes’ menu includes pizza, burgers, hot dogs, metts, brats, wings, French fries, shrimp, and chicken fingers. They have a bowling alley with 16 lanes. The bowling alley is smoke-free unless the leagues are playing. The bar allows smoking.
The bowling center has competitive and recreational bowling leagues and tournaments for coed teams, men, women, youth, and seniors. League fees cost $14 to $20 per week, and league duration ranges from 12 to 32 weeks.
The standard price for open bowling is $11, which covers two games and includes bowling shoes. Cosmic Bowling, which includes a laser show and music, is offered on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. It costs $14 per person plus $3.75 for shoe rental and allows unlimited bowling.
Hours of operation are Monday and Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sports Of All Sorts
10094 Investment Way, Florence
859-371-5511
This venue offers an arcade, basketball, a fitness center, flag football, futsal, pickleball courts, soccer, volleyball, and yoga.
Sports Of All Sorts has an eight-lane, smoke-free bowling alley with automatic scoring, too. The bowling alley offers bowling leagues and open bowling. Coed divisions are available for ages five to 18.
The cost for leagues is $75 per player and includes a uniform T-shirt, bowling games, league fee, and end-of-season awards. Each season has an eight-week duration.
Open bowling costs $5 per game, and bowling shoe rental costs $2. It is available only when there are no pre-scheduled games.
Extreme bowling, which includes special effects lighting and music, is offered every night and weekend. Their normal hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Strike & Spare
510 Commonwealth Avenue, Erlanger
859-727-2000
Strike & Spare is a smoke-free venue offers roller skating, laser tag, bumper cars, freak time, a virtual roller coaster, and bowling.
The bowling alley has Bluegrass Bar and Grill, which has a full-service bar and serves pizza, burgers, fries and other potato products, sandwiches, nachos, salads, chicken wings, chicken tenders, hot dogs, and more.
Strike & Spare’s bowling center has 42 lanes with automated scoring, 32 lanes on the lower level, and 14 VIP lanes with cosmic lights, music, and giant televisions on the upper level. They have bowling tournaments, bowling leagues, and open bowling.
League categories include doubles, trios, four-person, five-person, men, women, coed, youth, and adult/youth. Bowling leagues range from eight to 32 weeks in duration. League costs vary but the average youth cost is $11 per week and the average adult cost is $16 per week.
A game of bowling costs $4.15 and all-you-can bowl costs $8.95 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. One game of bowling costs $4.75 Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until closing, and $5.35 Friday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until closing.
Cosmic bowling costs $5.55 per game. The hourly rate for bowling is $19.50 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $22 Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until closing, and $25 Friday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until closing. Cosmic bowling costs $26.50 per hour. Shoe rental costs $4.10.
Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Super Bowl Bellewood
1211 Waterworks Road, Newport
859-781-1211
This venue has 32 lanes with automatic scoring, and they allow smoking. Super Bowl has a full-service bar and a snack bar that vends Pepsi products, French fries, pizza, burgers, and other things.
Super Bowl Bellewood has leagues for men, women, coed teams, and youth. Their leagues vary in duration from 12 to 29 weeks and tend to cost $16 to $20 per week.
Open bowling is offered but not always available, so they recommend you call in advance to check. It costs $3.50 plus tax per game before 5 p.m., $4.25 plus tax per game Sunday through Thursday after 5 p.m., and $4.50 plus tax per game Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Shoe rental always costs $3.50 plus tax.
Hours of operation are Monday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Walt’s Center Lanes
1809 Monmouth Street, Newport
859-431-2464
This bowling center, which allows smoking, has 32 lanes with automatic scoring.
They have a full-service bar and a video game room, too. The center has bowling leagues and open bowling, with leagues for coed teams, men, women, and youth.
The leagues typically have a nine to 35-week duration. Open bowling costs $9 per game on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. and that rate resumes at 3 p.m. Thunder Alley is available on Friday and Saturday nights from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and costs $14 and includes shoe rental. The cost of open bowling varies at different times. Hours of operation and prices vary seasonally.