Page 24 - mch0617_Magazine

FAMILY FUN CENTERS

After the move, the facility
was downsized to 16 lanes of
bowling with a family recreation
center where the other lanes had
been.
While the changes were be-
ing made on base, plans were
being made to change Pier 525,
the enlisted club located in the
center of the base, to a family fun
center with 28 lanes of bowling.
“The idea for the project was not
only to bring in bowling, but
also to turn the building from a
true enlisted club to an all-hands
facility that anyone could use,”
said Prue. “That was located in the center of the base near
our Training Support Command, where a majority of the ‘A’
School sailors residing on the base are very close to. They don’t
have transportation, so it is very easy and convenient for them.”
The new Epicenter opened in January 2017, offering an
amazing array of entertainment and dining opportunities for
the base community.
The new bowling area is extremely popular, and MWR
was able to reuse the software that was used in the old bowl-
ing center because it had been recently upgraded. “We put in
Qubica, so we had the latest greatest stuff,” he said. “Although
we don’t have a lot of league bowling, we’ve got our Captain’s
Cup intermural bowling going on currently, and we have a
couple of other smaller things. Open bowling, competitions
and other things that we have done are bringing people out.
We have a promotion: a couple times a week, we have free
lunchtime bowling, to help out our lunch business and give
people a chance to get out and throw a ball around for the time
they have at lunch. They eat and can bowl for free.”
The main food location in the Epicenter is Spinz Hand
Crafted Food, a Commander, Navy Installations Command
(CNIC) concept developed with Orion Foods. The brand of-
fers a variety of choices, from pizza and burgers to wings and
Panini. “It also has a free-delivery program,” he said. “We are
the only one on base delivering. It is the hub for our delivery

program. We also have a dine-on-the-go app; people
can order and either come in and carry out, or you
can get delivery with that. It seems to work out very
well. As a matter of fact, close to 50 percent of our
orders are coming through the app now.”
Legends Sports Club offers a sports bar atmo-
sphere. “Before, our bars were tucked away in indi-
vidual rooms,” said Prue. “It was a different look and
feel in there. We wanted to make this a sports-bar
concept, but we wanted it family friendly. Families
come out in late afternoon, early evenings, and they
want to have some food and sit down, and maybe
mom and dad want to sit in this environment instead
of our food court concept. We wanted to attract them.
We wanted them to be able to see the games that are
playing; there is no shortage of TVs.”
The theme of the club celebrates the base’s sports
history. “We have had a number of professional hall-

24 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | JUNE 2017