SHOP TALK: Riverwood offers semester-long bowling leagues
Riverwood customers bowl on Jan. 24, 2020 in the Riverwood bowling center.
Business: Riverwood Resort
Address: 1313 E. Broomfield Road
Phone Number: (989) 772-5726
Riverwood Resort sits 2.5 miles from Central Michigan University’s campus, but it doesn’t stop students from bowling or golfing there.
The resort has been operating for decades, providing golfing, bowling and a bar and grill to visitors. Resort manager Terri Sommerville said Riverwood will be continuing its semester-long college bowling league, which the resort has done since the bowling alley opened in 1972.
The games for the leagues this semester will most likely be at 9:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. The league costs $10 per person and there are four bowlers per team.
Riverwood also has a golf course that spans over the Chippewa River and contains many villas for overnight stays throughout the year.
Central Michigan Life sat down with Sommerville to talk about the bowling league, golf course and history of the resort.
CM Life: When was Riverwood created?
Sommerville: It was created in 1960. It was purchased by my parents, who both went to CMU and both became teachers. But when my dad heard that the golf course was for sale, he decided that might be more exciting than teaching.
Was Riverwood always a golf course and a bowling alley, or did one come after another?
It was a golf course at first, but everything was on the south side of the (Chippewa) river. My dad built it so it would go over the river, so there are several holes that go over the river. We built the bowling center around (1972). (My dad) was looking for something to do over the winter because he was bored cutting brush.
What benefits do you have with having the university nearby?
We love having the university nearby. We’re 2.5 miles west of CMU, so we’re in close proximity. Sometimes students will ride their bikes out here and maybe go golfing.
When did the idea of a college bowling league start?
It seems like the students really enjoy bowling a lot and they like Riverwood because they can drink and bowl at the same time. That’s what makes it fun. It seems like college students prefer beer to water and that makes a good combination to have fun… I think that would have been for sure not too long after we opened the bowling center we started getting college leagues.
Ithaca resident Logan Coleman launches a bowling ball down a lane on Jan. 24, 2020 in the Riverwood bowling center.
How often do students come back after a semester?
We have one group of students that this is their fifth (semester) bowling in it. They’re seniors this year, and they’ve been bowling in it ever since they were freshmen. I think it’s a group of sorority and fraternity people. They keep continuing it every year and pass down the team name.
Anything else you would like to add?
What’s nice about Riverwood is that it’s a family-run business that been around for 60 years. It’s been a tradition for Mount Pleasant really. A lot of students have golfed and bowled here over the years.
