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R.I.P., Sunshine Bowl

Pummeled by wind, fire and water, a Pinellas Park alley will live on only in memory.

By SHARON L. BOND
Published January 10, 2006

PINELLAS PARK - Sunshine Bowl was moving beyond the damage caused by Hurricanes Charley and Jeanne when the fire occurred. It burned the new roof, and water used to put out the flames flooded the bowling alley again.

And that proved to be the end of an entertainment venue that had been an institution in south Pinellas County since the 1950s.

"It's a sad story. Forty-eight years of hard work down the drain," said Jerry Krauss, who with three partners opened Sunshine Bowl in 1958.

The bowling alley is being demolished. The Krauss family and its partners sold the land at 6900 U.S. 19 N in November after deciding they did not want to go into debt of at least $5-million to rebuild.

The family and partners also own Sunrise Lanes in St. Petersburg and Seminole Lanes in Largo. Kevin Krauss, son of Jerry Krauss and chief operating officer for the alleys, said the buyer was Greenfield Builders.

Gary Edwards, president of the building company based in Indiana, said his company also bought the motel next door and would use both properties for a retail center.

The size would be in the 50,000- to 60,000-square-foot range, Edwards said. No tenants are signed yet. While Edwards would not disclose what his company paid for the properties, records from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office show $3-million as the sales figure.

Both tracts should be cleared in another 30 days, Edwards said, but he did not know when construction would begin.

Greenfield has been developing property in Florida for the past few years, Edwards said.

Rick Butler, lifelong resident of Pinellas Park and a member of its City Council, said Sunshine Bowl was a big deal for the city.

"Back in the day, it really was the place to go, in the '60s, '70s and '80s" Butler said. "This was before video games, computers and cell phones. There were Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night bowling leagues that people belonged to."

Butler said he started bowling at Sunshine when he was about 12. His son began at age 7, in the learning league.

"A lot of money was raised there for nonprofit organizations," Butler said. "A lot of retirees bowled there during the day."

Sunshine Bowl began with 16 lanes, added eight, and in the 1970s put in another 16, Kevin Krauss said.

The owners received $3.7-million in insurance money for the damage, Jerry Krauss said. They spent nearly $1-million to put roofs back on the building that the hurricanes tore off. Then came the fire, which was caused in the drying process of reroofing, he said.

Kevin Krauss, 45, said the estimates for building a new 40-lane bowling center were around $7.5-million. So to rebuild, the family would have to borrow what the insurance didn't cover. Jerry Krauss, at age 73, said he was too old to do that.

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:52:17]