Bowling News
The Waterloo Hotel and Bowling Green at Blackpool was the Mecca for bowlers for many years until the hotel owners went into administration in 2019. The stands needed substantial investment to comply with safety regulations and the new owner wasn't of a mind to spend the kind of money to see 3,000 visitors around the green on a regular basis.
Some die-hards were prepared to invest in the infrastructure and wanted a commitment from the owners that would allow that work to go ahead with a long term lease ensuring bowling would continue to be the focus of the site. That offer was never available so the money was never invested and 6 years later the owners have got what they deserved, a derelict eyesore on their doorstep.
The die-hards turned their emphasis to the new site at Fleetwood and made the investment to ensure some order of bowling would be available down the coast. But it has never been the same and the BCGBA has turned its support towards other sites to take their most prestigious competitions and we will never see again the likes of a common site widely accepted as the centre of bowling.
First used as a national centre for bowling in 1907 when the 1907 Cup Final had 320 entries and a total prize fund of £25. Commonly referred to as the 'Wembley of Bowling' with a long history of drama and great competitions. Recent photographs show the derelict state of the green which still sits behind the Waterloo Hotel, unloved and uncared for.
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