Kingpin Bowling
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Bowling |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | Australia, New Zealand |
| Products | Ten-pin bowling venues |
| Owner | The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG) |
| Parent | The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG) |
| Website | zonebowling |
Zone Bowling represents a network of ten-pin bowling venues located throughout Australia and New Zealand, managed and owned by The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG). The brand encompasses 34 sites within Australia alongside three establishments in New Zealand.
History
Initially operating under the name AMF Bowling Australia, the company functioned as the Australian branch of American Machine and Foundry (AMF). In response to rising interest in ten-pin bowling, AMF began producing pinspotters domestically in 1959. By 1964, the country featured approximately 1,600 bowling lanes, although the sport's popularity later diminished.
In 1985, AMF's bowling operations were acquired by private investors based in Richmond, Virginia, resulting in the creation of AMF Bowling Companies, Inc. To rejuvenate the Australian market, the firm purchased two prominent local bowling chains. This expansion saw AMF Australia grow from 16 centers to more than 40 by 2004.
In February 2005, Macquarie Leisure Trust (which later became Ardent Leisure) purchased AMF Bowling Worldwide's Australian division as part of AMF's strategy to concentrate on its U.S. business.
TEEG acquired Ardent Leisure's bowling and entertainment assets in December 2017 for $160 million, integrating them with its Timezone arcade operations to establish a unified entertainment portfolio that includes Timezone, AMF, Kingpin, and Playtime. Following this acquisition, all AMF venues were rebranded under the Zone Bowling name.
February 2019 marked the debut of TEEG's first combined Zone Bowling and Timezone location at Westfield Garden City. Currently, TEEG manages 15 such dual-branded sites featuring both entertainment concepts.