Asbury Lanes will reopen for business this spring!
Renovations to the beloved Asbury Park bowling alley and live music venue are nearly complete, and the business's grand reopening has been tentatively set for Memorial Day weekend, reports the Asbury Park Press.
The venue is being revamped by iStar, the same developer that built the Asbury Hotel and is building a nearby luxury high-rise.
"Everyone has an Asbury Lanes story," Salt Hotels' David Bowd said in a press release. "Emotions ran higher with this project than with anything we've undertaken. What mattered to them matters to us: keeping the soul of this incredible venue while making changes necessary to guarantee its future."
First opened in 1962, Asbury Lanes was an 18-lane bowling alley that later became a popular concert venue for local garage bands. The space has been closed for renovation since October of 2015.
iStar boasts that the new and improved venue's original capacity of 300 will more than double thanks to the improvements, and the new Asbury Lanes will feel like part "CBGB, part Cheers, part Barney's Bowlarama."
There's also going to be a passageway between the bowling alley and The Asbury Hotel.
Asbury Lanes was in danger of being condemned before it was closed in 2015 due to structural and mechanical issues. Developers say that only four walls of the original structure were able to be preserved, but they hope they have reinforced the artistic spirit for which the space was so beloved.
Bowd says the venue plans to put on about 150 concerts a year; about half of those dates will feature national touring bands booked by Bowery Presents, the rest will be booked by the venue's on-site team.
The new Asbury Lanes will also provide youth bowling programs, free bowling lessons and league bowling nights—everything you would expect from a regular bowling alley.
"Yes, the Lanes will have incredible ticketed events," Bowd added in the release. "But most of the time, it will be open to everyone as a great place to hang in an amazing location."
Keep up with Asbury Lanes here.
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