Bowling with a byte

Steve Addy

Thursday, June 22, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

There were plenty of sports pundit chuckles in March when three former Microsoft honchos bought the Professional Bowlers Association, but few outside the tour knew how dire the situation really was.

As recently as December, the organization was down to one month of operating cash and there was the real possibility that the PBA would shut down completely, insiders say.

But now that the pink has begun returning to the patient's cheeks, the new bosses don't plan to shock the PBA back to full health. They are plotting a slow, certain recovery that will strengthen the PBA beyond anything seen in its 42-year history, including a return to network TV.

Though eager to invigorate the PBA tour and turn it into "the next NASCAR," former Microsoft VP Chris Peters said he and his partners realize it will be at least a five-year job.

"The current state of the tour forces us to think long-term," Peters said Wednesday at the International BowlExpo at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"You are not going to see a new PBA next week. It took many years to hurt, and it will take many years to fix. We have no illusions."

Peters bought the PBA with Mike Slade, the former president of Paul Allen's successful Starwave Internet venture, and Rob Glaser, chairman/CEO of RealNetworks, on March 22. The PBA had been a nonprofit organization since its inception, owned by its members, but the shoestring operation had stunted promotional efforts and kept tournament purses lagging.

When ABC pulled the plug on the PBA's TV contract in 1997 after 36 years as a popular Saturday staple, the tour essentially disappeared from the radar of the sporting public.

Peters, who took up bowling only two years ago, though his dad was a trophy-winning bowler, saw vast potential in the PBA. He viewed it as a blue-collar sport with worldwide appeal that simply had not been marketed properly.

"We were afraid people were going to steal this deal from us," said Peters, 42. "(The tour's failure) was a matter of unrealized potential. I do not blame anyone but the inherent structure of the organization. A nonprofit membership is not going to be able to react quickly enough to what the market demands."

After an initial cash infusion and boosting the tour purses by $1 million for the year, the new owners are turning their attention to organization and promotion. PBA tournament operations will remain in Akron, Ohio, but the business operations will move to Seattle. Peters is serving as chairman, but is seeking a marketing-savvy president to oversee the day-to-day management.

Promotion-wise, Peters is mum on plans for a new TV deal, though he recognizes it is essential. But he regards the Internet with equal importance, predicting that TV and the Web will be fully integrated within 10 years.

"The PBA website is getting a million hits a month and 30 percent of them are from overseas," he said.

Peters spoke admiringly of NASCAR, which has created a successful whole by marketing individuals and rivalries, and hinted he would like to take a similar tack, though pro wrestling isn't quite the marketing strategy he has in mind. In other words, don't expect PBA Smackdown.

"This isn't going to be the WWF," Peters said. "But sports entertainment is about heroes and villains. It's about knowing who you're rooting for. We need to make people aware of our stars. If the only player they know is Earl Anthony, who hasn't played (on tour) in five years, we are in trouble."

PBA star Pete Weber, winner of 24 career titles, said Peters is off to a good start.

"When he bought the PBA, the one thing the players wondered was whether he was really going to put money into the prize fund," Weber said. "The prize fund has gone up, so he's come through on that. He's going to be nothing but good for the PBA."