Bowling But With Footballs? It’s Coming Here This Fall
Forget darts, cornhole and jenga. The latest bar game to sweep the country combines bowling and football. It’s called fōwling and it’s on its way to the North Loop.
Credit: Instagram/Fowling Warehouse Indianapolis
Fōwling Warehouse, a company with several locations across the country, is in the process of converting an old industrial facility at 401 Royalston Avenue, near the Farmers Market, into its latest entertainment venue. The owners hope to open by early fall.
To play this game, players at either end of a lane take turns trying to knock down each other’s pins by throwing a football from about 50 feet away. Here are the official rules.
It can be played by individuals or teams. In fact, the concept has proven to be popular as a corporate team-building activity.
“Team building is a really big opportunity for us,” said Andrew Cunningham, co-owner and GM of the Minneapolis facility. “If you think about it, it’s hard to get people out together to be able to socialize and interact with each other. Not everybody’s a bar-goer anymore. Fewer and fewer people are drinking and that’s why we really do feel that this sort of social interaction and wide variety of drink options is really important for us.”
The Minneapolis facility will have a full bar, with alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, and a food menu. The owners are hoping to add THC drinks as well.
Credit: Instagram/Fowling Warehouse Cincinnati
In the back of the room, in an area that can be used as an event center, there will be a 16-foot-by-9-foot array of TV screens that should be a big draw during the NFL and college football seasons.
“We’ll have multiple games on that, sort of like a sportsbook feeling for folks,” said Cunningham, “to make it really feel like they’re getting a bigger experience than a little warehouse.”
There will be 21 fōwling lanes in the new facility, which will be open seven days a week.
“I’m ecstatic, I’m really looking forward to getting this up and running,” said Cunningham. “We found this exceptional site in the North Loop neighborhood. Being so close to the stadiums here, it’s just fantastic.”
You can get the latest updates on the project on the facility’s Instagram and Facebook accounts.
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer