Strike! Here's everything you need to know about 6 bowling alleys on Treasure Coast

Jermaine Lewis, 7, makes his way to send his ball down the lane while bowling with the Future Generations summer camp on Wednesday at Lucie Lanes in Port St. Lucie. Kids can bowl for free this summer at participating bowling alleys nationwide, including Stuart Bowl, Vero Bowl, Lucie Lanes and Superplay USA, both in Port St. Lucie. Age requirements vary by location, but kids can register for two free games every day until the end of August at KidsBowlFree.com.

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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Chloe Monroe, 3, of Fort Pierce, carries her ball while bowling on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, at Lucie Lanes in Port St. Lucie. Kids can bowl for free this summer at participating bowling alleys nationwide, including Stuart Bowl, Vero Bowl, Lucie Lanes and Superplay USA, both in Port St. Lucie. Age requirements vary by location, but kids can register for two free games every day until the end of August at KidsBowlFree.com.

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.

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

St. Lucie West features several entertainment venues, including Superplay USA and Frank Family Entertainment Centers
St. Lucie West features several entertainment venues, including Superplay USA and Frank Family Entertainment Centers

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.

  • Address: 1600 N.W. Courtyard Circle, St. Lucie West

  • 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
Vero Bowl

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