Canoga Park Bowl to Hold LPBT Event

The Canoga Park Bowl, recently given a $500,000 face lift, will be the site of the year’s first event on the Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour when it hosts the $30,000 Canoga Park Classic on Feb. 4-8.

The event was last held in 1984, when Tish Johnson of Panorama City captured first place. Johnson will return for this year’s event, along with veteran Robin Romeo of Van Nuys.

Heading the field will be Lisa Wagner of Palmetto, Fla., the LPBT’s 1988 Bowler of the Year. Wagner won 6 tournaments last year and became the first bowler on the LPBT to earn more than $100,000 in a year.

Gene Giegoldt, general manager of Canoga Park Bowl, said that work on the facility, which included major remodeling and upgrading of the entire building and adjoining hotel, is finished. He said the facility paid the LPBT $10,000 to host the event.

“We saw the tournament as a promotional benefit,” Giegoldt said. “Having an event like this brings a lot of prestige for us. In the long run, we think the renovating and the pro tournament will entice bowlers from throughout the San Fernando Valley to come and bowl here.”

The facility will be closed to public bowling during the tournament. An admission fee will be charged for the event.

Others scheduled to compete include Jeanne Maiden of Solon, Ohio, the 1988 runner-up to Wagner in voting for Bowler of the Year; Donna Adamek of Victorville, a 16-time winner on the tour; 1987 Bowler of the Year Betty Morris of Stockton; and Women’s Bowling Hall of Fame members Lorrie Nichols of Algonquin, Ill., and Patty Costello of Scranton, Pa.

The women will compete in 3 other tournaments in Southern California after the Canoga Park Classic: a $35,000 event in Fullerton, Feb. 11-15; a $30,000 tournament in San Diego, Feb. 18-22; and another $30,000 tournament in San Dimas, Feb. 25-March 1.