Mescalero Apache Tribe revives Alamogordo bowling center

ALAMOGORDO — When Gail Notestine was looking for a new place to enjoy retirement with her dogs, she selected Alamogordo for two reasons. One was its smaller size compared to Las Cruces, where she had visited in the past with her late husband. The other was the presence of a bowling center: Notestine was a league bowler back in North Carolina and the decade-old 24-lane bowling center was a strong draw.

The city-built Rocket City Family Fun Center, located next to the Aviator 10 cinema near White Sands Boulevard and the Charlie Lee Memorial Relief Route, reopened last August after struggling in recent years. It closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, reopened and shut down again in November 2023.

Last April, the city signed a management contract with the Mescalero Apache Tribe’s Inn of the Mountain Gods, reviving the center under new management with the tribe steering a prominent enterprise outside the Mescalero reservation. Tribal President Thora Padilla stated at the time, “We’re honored to lead the relaunch of Rocket City and share our hospitality expertise with Alamogordo,” with the city aiming to reboot the center as a family friendly regional attraction as well as a quality-of-life asset for residents.

It has resumed its place as a fixture in Alamogordo, with a full bar and restaurant led by chef Austin Harless, arcade games and a 2,400-square-foot laser tag course.

It is also providing jobs, with manager Johnny Adams reporting 40 full-time employees and six part-timers staffing the center.

The revamped menu under Harless’ tenure includes burgers served on pretzel and brioche buns, frybread tacos, stir-fried chicken with chiles, pork schnitzel, panini and steaks.

The highest demand remains at the bowling lanes, where one might have to wait 30 minutes or over an hour for an opening on a weekend night.

“Bowling is the attraction. Bowling is what’s going to bring everybody in,” Adams said in an interview. “If I can’t have bowling here, that means nobody’s coming.”

Notestine plays in an unsanctioned senior league, though Rocket City is sanctioned by the U.S. Bowling Congress, the sport’s national governing body. Notestine’s daughter, Tracie Martin, also made the move to Alamogordo and rates the bowling center highly, with some caveats.

“Even compared to some of the ones in bigger cities in North Carolina, this is nice,” Martin said. “It’s very clean. The lanes themselves are good. It’s just the ball-return and the pins that are not so hot.”

It’s no secret that the mechanics at Rocket City were old and inconsistent. The center’s lead technician, Ashleigh Miller, said much of the equipment is 40 years old and some older than that, with thousands of parts to maintain and many no longer manufactured, leaving her to look for replacement gearboxes on eBay and other sites.

During January, a major renovation was set to begin. With $650,000 in state Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding, Rocket City’s lanes will close for a few weeks to install up-to-date pin-setters, monitors, front control systems and other equipment.

Adams said, at the latest, the lanes would reopen by Feb. 13, with the center’s other attractions in operation while the work proceeds. With all 24 lanes in continuous operation, he looked ahead to programming ideas, making the center a venue for events and musical performances, perhaps even the host of a future state tournament.

“I’d love to see more people enjoy the southern part of the state or come in from West Texas and El Paso,” Adams said. “Bringing people down here to let them see another side of this state… Customer service is our specialty. We’re going to show you a good time.”

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.