Strike! Here's everything you need to know about 6 bowling alleys on Treasure Coast
Strike up some fun bowling with friends and family.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Treasure Coast’s six bowling alleys — but first, a little history about the game, also known as “tenpins.”
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The history of bowling
The sport has been traced back to 5200 B.C. Primitive items found in an Egyptian child’s tomb included a stone “ball” to be rolled through an archway made of three pieces of marble toward nine pieces of stone.
Another ancient discovery was the Polynesian game of ula maika, which also used pins and balls of stone. The balls were rolled at targets 60 feet away — the distance used today as a basic regulation of tenpins.
Bowling at pins likely originated in ancient Germany as a religious ceremony. Martin Luther is credited with settling on nine as the ideal number of pins.
The game moved throughout Europe, the Scandinavian countries and finally to the U.S. with the earliest known reference to bowling at pins in America found in Washington Irving’s 1818 short story, “Rip Van Winkle.”
The game was being played throughout the world with different rules and basic equipment. It’s unknown why and when the extra pin was added from the European game of ninepins to the American game of tenpins.
Bowling became so popular by mid-1800s, indoor lanes were built throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as Syracuse, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities with large German populations.
Today, over 67 million people in the U.S. go bowling every year, according to the United States Bowling Congress, the national governing body of 10-pin bowling.
Stuart Bowl Lanes & Lounge
Opened as Stuart Lanes in 1989, it had a $2 million renovation in 2012 to become Stuart Bowl Lanes & Lounge. It has 36 lanes, lane-side food and beverage service, a full bar, a game zone with arcade games, pool tables, dart boards and a pro shop.
Address: 1638 S.E. Federal Highway, Stuart
Summer hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon to midnight Friday-Saturday
Cost: $18.95 hourly per lane Monday-Friday, $22.95 hourly per lane Saturday-Sunday; $4 shoe rental
Deals: $2 games and $2 shoe rentals Tuesdays
Phone: 772-286-9700
Website: bowlstuart.com
Facebook: facebook.com/StuartBowl
Jensen Beach Bowl
Opened in 1958, it’s been owned by Michelle and Jes Sprague since 1995. They remodeled the bowling alley this summer. It has 20 lanes, a snack bar, a full-service bar, a game room with arcade games and karaoke from 7-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Address: 2303 N.E Dixie Highway, Jensen Beach
Summer hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday (league play is 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday)
Cost: $3.25 per person per game weekdays, $4.25 weekends starting 6 p.m. Friday; $18.50 for 1 hour per lane; $3 shoe rental
Deals: $22.50 for 1 hour for up to 5 people Saturday-Sunday (includes shoe rentals)
Phone: 772-225-2695
Website: jensenbeachbowl.com
Facebook: facebook.com/JensenBeachBowling
Superplay
The entertainment complex has 48 bowling lanes, arcade games, batting cages, laser tag, a laser maze and a full-service restaurant: a Duffy’s Sports Grill.
Summer hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday
Cost: $3.09 per person per game before 5 p.m., $5.19 after 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; $5.19 all Saturday; $4.09 from noon to 11 p.m. Sunday; $17 hourly per person before 5 p.m., $23 after 5 p.m. daily; $3.99 shoe rental; cosmic bowling is $6.19 per person per game from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday; $6.19 for 3-5 p.m., 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday
Deals: $45.99 before 5 p.m., $59.99 after 5 p.m. daily for family fun pack of up to 6 people for two hours including shoe rentals; $6.19 from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday, $6.19 from 3-5 p.m., 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday for cosmic bowling family fun pack ($16 to add laser tag); $2 games and $2 shoe rentals Mondays; $12.99 unlimited bowling including shoe rentals 7-11 p.m. Wednesdays; $17 for two hours of cosmic bowling and 1 game of laser tag starting 7 p.m. Friday, from 3-5 p.m. and starting 8 p.m. Saturday.
Phone: 772-408-5800
Website: superplay.fun
Lucie Lanes
Owner Laura Belschner started working at the formerly named Saint Lucie Lanes in 2004. She worked there for 16 years until its previous owner sold the bowling alley during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. She and her husband, Jason, bought and reopened it as Lucie Lanes in 2021. It has 48 lanes, a food court, a full-service bar, pool tables, dart boards, a game room with arcade games and a pro shop.
Address: 6759 S. U.S. 1, Port St. Lucie
Summer hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday (league play is 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday)
Cost: $3 per person per game before 5 p.m., $4 per person per game after 5 p.m.; $2.50 shoe rental
Deals: $1 per game starting 7 p.m. Monday; $5 wristband for 50 cents per game starting 7 p.m. Tuesday; $10 per person unlimited bowling (includes shoe rental) starting 7 p.m. Wednesday; $15 per person unlimited glow bowl (includes shoe rental) starting 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday; beat-the-block Sunday: 50-cent games 9-10 a.m., 75-cent games 10-11 a.m., $1 games 11 a.m. to noon, $2 games starting noon
Phone: 772-302-3178
Facebook: facebook.com/LucieLanes
Vero Bowl Lanes & Lounge
Originally opened as Vero Bowl in 1989, it had a $2.5 million renovation in 2010 to become Vero Bowl Lanes & Lounge. It has 32 lanes, lane-side food and beverage service, a full bar, a game zone with arcade games, pool tables, dart boards and a pro shop.
Address: 929 14th Lane, Vero Beach
Summer hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon to midnight Friday-Saturday
Cost: $18.95 hourly per lane Monday-Friday, $22.95 hourly per lane Saturday-Sunday; $4 shoe rental
Deals: $2 games and $2 shoe rentals Tuesdays
Phone: 772-299-7467
Website: verobowl.com
Facebook: facebook.com/verobeachbowling
Strike Zone Entertainment Center
Tony Ceraso opened this entertainment center in 2017. It has 14 bowling lanes, a full-service bar and restaurant, over 40 arcade games, laser tag, pool tables and dart boards. Trivia starts 6:30 p.m. Mondays. Corn hole, or bags, begins 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays.
Address: 730 S. Fleming St., Sebastian
Summer hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday; Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. Sunday (league play is 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays)
Cost: $3 per person per game before 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; $4.50 per person per game after 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, all Saturday-Sunday; $18 hourly per lane up to six people before 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; $25 hourly per lane after 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, all Saturday-Sunday; $2.50 per game for ages 55 and older all hours; $2 shoe rental for kids, $3 for adults, $3 socks
Deals: $12 for 3 games (includes shoes) or $12 for 2 games and laser tag
Phone: 772-770-2710
Website: strikezonesebastian.com
Facebook: facebook.com/StrikeZoneSebastian
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter at @TCPalmLaurie or Facebook at faceboook.com/TCPalmLaurie.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Strike! Everything you need to know about 6 local bowling alleys
