Emerson Lanes Goes Pro

By Betsy Curry
   Recently Parkersburg received the great opportunity to host a stop in the Professional Bowler Association National Tour. The stop marked only the second time in 41 years that the PBA visited Parkersburg. On Feb. 12 the PBA was held once again at Emerson Bowling Lanes. With the help of over 100 volunteers and the public the weekend was a big success.
   The weekend consisted of qualifying for the ESPN show on Sunday and fun with the public. The PBA offered “Bowling with the Pros,” in which the public could purchase tickets to bowl with the Professional Bowlers during the weekend. The tournament also offered day passes and weekend long passes to enjoy all the festivities. Tickets were also available to watch the ESPN show live at the Lanes. Emerson Lanes broke all ticket sales for the PBA National Tour including, “Bowling with the Pros,” day and weekend long passes and the ESPN live show.
   On Sunday, Sean Rash a 23-year-old bowler made history when he captured the West Virginia Championship after qualifying for the event through Denny’s PBA tour qualifying round that was help both Friday and Saturday. Rash became the first non-exempt PBA member to win the PBA event ever.
   With the record breaking revenue intake the PBA was eager to add Emerson Lanes to the tour next year. Bob Cameron, correspondent with Emerson Lanes was unaware of exactly when the Tour would return, but was certain they would. The PBA and the Bowlers enjoyed the great hospitality we have shown them stated Cameron. Without the help of volunteers tearing down parts of Emerson, setting up for qualifying and the hard work of setting up for the ESPN show, it would have been impossible for the Tour to go as smoothly as it did, one volunteer added.