Main Event to reopen 16 Texas locations Thursday with bowling valets and zoned laser tag

‘We’ve completely redefined every aspect of the Main Event experience,’ says CEO Chris Morris.

Main Event had to rethink its most popular activity, bowling, to be sure guests don't ever touch the same bowling balls without them being sanitized. Starting Thursday, Main Event will implement a valet model at all of its Texas bowling alleys, and has changed how it operates some of its attractions.(Andy Jacobsohn / The Dallas Morning News)

By Natalie Walters

6:43 AM on Jun 11, 2020

Over the past two months of Texas-ordered closures of entertainment venues, Main Event had to figure out two problems: how to sanitize bowling balls — especially the finger holes — and how to play laser tag while social distancing.

Now Plano-based Main Event Entertainment, which closed its locations nationwide on March 17, thinks it’s figured it out and plans to reopen 16 Texas locations, including seven in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, on Thursday. The two remaining Texas locations — Pharr and Laredo — already reopened.The state’s third phase reopening guidelines limit entertainment venues like Main Event to 50% capacity. Main Event CEO Chris Morris said the company can still be profitable at that, but he’s more focused on safety right now.

“We’ve completely redefined every aspect of the Main Event experience,” he said. “We want to give people a place to have fun outside of home.”

Main Event is a family entertainment center with numerous indoor activities: bowling, arcade games, laser tag, billiards, gravity ropes, karaoke, mini-golf, rock climbing and virtual reality. It operates 44 locations in 17 states.

Bowling, Main Event’s most popular activity, was once a potential hot spot for the transfer of germs with strangers using the same bowling balls throughout the day. But now, Main Event has created a valet model as part of its new “play smart, play safe” campaign.

An employee will help you pick out a bowling ball and then clean it for you. When you finish your game, you simply walk away from the lane and employees will return to pick up the ball and clean it again for the next players. Because ball returns are sometimes shared, each ball will have a unique marking — either your name, a number or a funny design —to avoid confusion over which ball to pick up.

Before the pandemic heightened concerns about sanitation, laser tag was a high-contact sport with players frequently running into each other as they walked around a maze. Now, the laser arenas are divided into eight to 12 zones with glow-in-the-dark tape, with each player assigned to one zone. Every two minutes, a winner is announced and players rotate to the next zone. A referee will be present to ensure rules are followed.

Among other changes:

• All employees must wear a face mask and receive a temperature check before their shift.
• Every other billiard table and shuffleboard table will be closed.
• Select arcade games will be turned off.
• Gloves are available upon request.
• Sanitation stations are located throughout the center.
• Guests using gravity ropes must wear a face covering and wash their hands beforehand.
• High-touch surfaces like golf balls and putters will be sanitized after each use.
• Karaoke and rock climbing activities are currently closed.
• Limited guests are allowed for parties.

Main Event didn’t have any COVID-related layoffs, but did furlough some employees. The company plans to bring employees back as its business picks up.