Oakridge Lanes signs extended lease with Westfield Corporation
Strong community support saves facility from the wrecker's ball

By Candy Richter
Staff Writer

It's 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and AMF Oakridge Lanes is packed.
On one end of the facility, about 100 volunteers, parents and athletes from the Special Olympics organization are in full swing, on the other end, the beginnings of a hectic birthday party schedule are just starting up, and in the middle are a few of the hundreds of seniors that call the AMF Oakridge Lanes their bowling facility of choice.
Looking around at the buzz of activity, it's hard to believe that this bustling community center was at one time slated for destruction to make way for, of all things, a parking lot.

When the Westfield Corporation first turned their attention to the Oakridge Mall property redesign and build out, the AMF Oakridge Lanes bowling facility, across the street at 5420 Thornwood Drive, was not in their plans for the future. To accommodate the increased traffic brought in by the expanded retail, dining and entertainment offerings, the property on Thornwood was slated for a complete teardown to accommodate offsite parking. But that was before the community got involved.

Once the word got out that Westfield's expansion plans did not include Oakridge Lanes, the community, spearheaded by the many seniors that use the facility on a regular basis, rallied to the center's defense.
"We have seniors that come from all over the area to bowl here both in leagues and with their families," said Sue Ehrlich, the Oakridge Senior Director. "I've known many of these people for years. This is an activity that they really looked forward to. A chance to see friends that they've played with and in some instances, don't get to see very often."
Once organized, the community voiced its concerns in public meetings with the Westfield management, to the local city officials, and to the Oakridge Lanes management. "To many people this was more than just a bowling alley," said Tom Barger, Oakridge Lanes center manager. "This is a relationship business. We have customers that came in bowling with our adult league and now bowl as seniors. This is a great place for the family. I know when I was growing up, and for many people still, when you think of your local bowling center, you think of family."

Westfield responds
With the swell of public support for maintaining the AMF facility, the Westfield Corporation decided to revisit their site plans and take a second look at possibly including AMF in the Westfield expansion. This willingness to not only include, but embrace the community's priorities has earned Westfield high marks with many of those involved. "I am very impressed with Westfield and the support of the city," said Barger. "They really knew when to reach out and support this community. I'm happy to be apart of that group."
According to Westfield Vice President of Development Larry Green, not only is Oakridge Lanes going to remain a part of the Oakridge Shoppingtown commuity, it will be undergoing an extensive remodel and upgrade. "We know how important Oakridge Lanes is to this community, remarked Green. "Therefore, we have embraced them as an integral part of our program."

Now, with the Sept. 18 lease signing a done deal, AMF can once again focus on the business of bowling, but not without some sincerely felt thank you's. "For many years, Oakridge lanes has been a community center for friends, families and neighbors to come together, said AMF District manager Joanne Bengiveno. "AMF received tremendous grass-roots support from its customers and we're gratified by the show of public support. Believe me, we're happy to be keeping Oakridge Lanes alive and well.

A community support center
Besides providing recreation and entertainment, Oakridge Lanes has also served as a community center capable of rallying supporters for many good causes. Oakridge Lanes hosts the Cadence "Stars and Stripes" fundraising bowling event that raised nearly $1 million in 2002 for nonprofit organizations in the San Jose area. Last year more than 180 Silicon Valley companies participated in this fundraising event.

Oakridge also supports the Special Olympics, and has hosted as many as 100 athletes and supporters at their facility. According to Dedra Downing, whose son Thomas participates in the once monthly bowling activity, this event is vitally important to special needs kids and their families. "We really need this on the weekends, an activity where the kids can interact as a community and foster friendships. Because we come from all over the area, this is, for many of the kids, the only time they get to see each other."
Family friend Debbie Clarke added, "This also gives Thomas the opportunity to see that he can have a life. He sees other people [with special needs] other adults who drive, have jobs, get married -it opens up a lot of awareness that they would not have otherwise."