A group of bowling coaches and enthusiasts, with the support of the City Council, is searching for private money and city land to build a bowling alley in urban Honolulu, whose last bowling alley is expected to close early next year.

Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, whose district runs from Kaka'ako to Kapahulu, supports the bowlers and has enlisted the help of city researchers.

But so far, they haven't been able to find a suitable site.

Meanwhile, the bowlers say, they are talking with investors interested in building the facility, which will cost $12 million to $15 million. They also are looking into possible sites, including the old Stadium Bowl-o-Drome parcel in Mo'ili'ili, which is owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The group, a committee of about 20 bowlers representing several organizations, including the O'ahu Bowling Association, says the city should provide land for the sport just as it provides space for golf, tennis and soccer.

And they point out they are not asking for money, just land.

Edward Sun, a businessman and lifelong bowler who is looking for investors to fund the bowling alley and recreation center on city land, said without city land for the facility, it would not be economically feasible. The group originally hoped the city would help finance the center, but was told it would likely be impossible to secure city money.

CITY ASSISTS OTHERS

Sun and his group point out the city helps fund many other sports facilities.

In fiscal year 2007, the city spent about $8.7 million to help operate its six municipal golf courses, which also get about $7.5 million annually in revenues, city records show. The city also doled out more than $40 million to the Parks and Recreation Department to oversee maintenance and recreation services at its parks, including those with tennis courts, fields and other sports venues.

The newest city sports facilities are the $65 million, 269-acre Central O'ahu Regional Park and Tennis Complex, which was finished in 2003; and the Waipi'o Soccer Complex, finished in 2000 at a cost of $24 million.

But those facilities were initiated under former Mayor Jeremy Harris, who also approved millions of dollars for skate parks and canoe halau over the past decade. Appropriations for similar sports venues have slowed to a trickle under Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Sun said he realizes parcels of land in urban Honolulu don't come cheap, but he pointed out that he and his group are not asking for city money. "I think the concept of a private enterprise, combined with one of the local government entities finding a location, that could be a good marriage," he said.

But some bowling alley owners don't want to see the city get involved, saying it will drive down prices and give the facility an unfair advantage. Some also question the appropriateness of city participation in a venture designed to earn profit for investors.

"This is the problem: We pay rent. Our rent is stupendous," said Richard Akimoto, the owner of Leeward Bowl in Pearl City. "If you have another center that can undermine our prices, we're really in trouble."

Akimoto pays about $50,000 a month for his 33,000 square-foot building.

Frank Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Wai'alae Bowl, said he is skeptical of Sun's motives. "He's in it so he can make money," Yamamoto said.

Sun, who owns technology firm Sun Global, disputed the claim, saying he has so far only lost money on the idea.

Sun and his group kick-started the project earlier this year, after getting increasingly frustrated over crowded bowling lanes.

Since 1960, the number of public bowling alleys on O'ahu has dwindled from 31 — and more than 700 lanes — to four, with about 100 lanes, according to the O'ahu Bowling Association. There also are six alleys on military bases.

Two of the remaining four public alleys are to close soon. Pali Lanes in Kailua has announced its lease will expire in early 2009. The owner of Wai'alae Bowl says his lease will not be renewed beyond February 2008.

NO LOSS OF INTEREST

Many bowlers attribute the closing of alleys to the rise in land prices, especially in urban Honolulu, not to a drop in participation or interest.

"The outcry for the lack of a bowling center is coming from urban Honolulu," Sun said. "We don't need to take people from other establishments. This is a supplement to what else is going on."

He would not name the investors he has had discussions with because he has received no promises for funding, but he said he has received lots of interest.

Art Machado, executive director of the O'ahu Bowling Association and a member of the steering committee for the new facility, said there are not enough bowling lanes on O'ahu for the number of people interested in the sport.

The decline in alleys has forced people — and whole leagues — to stop playing altogether, he said. Since 1980, association membership has dropped by more than half, from more than 11,000 to about 5,000, he said.

In June, the City Council passed a resolution supporting the new bowling facility and asking the administration to facilitate a search for land.

The McCully-Mo'ili'ili Neighborhood Board recently added its support to the idea, and the bowlers also have a petition in favor of the facility with about 9,000 signatures.

Kobayashi said she has told the bowling group that there is no city money available for the new facility, but she is supportive of providing city land.

The land would be provided at no or low rent, or could be given outright.

"Since we provide other forms of recreation, why not bowling?" she said.

But Kobayashi also said the search for city land has not turned up anything suitable so far, and that she is not optimistic. For now, she's waiting for the group to come forward with an idea.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said its old Stadium Bowl-o-Drome site will be put out for bids early next year. The bowling group is discussing the possibility of a land swap of the site with the city, but the idea has not yet been presented to DHHL. There is no master plan for the site, but officials said it will likely remain commercial.

Of the potential land swap, DHHL spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka said, "I think we're always open to discussion."

Among the loudest voices calling for the new center are coaches of youth groups, senior leagues and the Special Olympics, which have had more and more trouble finding lanes for practice and tournaments.

Many have had to turn to military facilities for help.

"The city and county should have bowling alleys," said Jared Kaufmann, the coordinator for high school bowling on O'ahu, "just like they have municipal golf courses, municipal tennis courts, municipal sites for all kinds of things."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.