The Man of the Hour

In late August, Professional Women’s Bowling Association owner John Sommer made a momentous decision one he had been contemplating for a year or more. He decided to sell his PWBA Tour after operating it since 1981 from his offices in Rockford, Illinois. The probable new owner is Steve Sanders, President of Pinacle Events in Syosset, New York, on Long Island.
Sommer started the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour in 1981 after a few other women’s pro groups had struggled since 1960. In 1997, the LPBT became the PWBA. Sommer and PWBA president John Falzone and many others accomplished a lot in 22 years, but pockets were just never deep enough to put women’s bowling on the same path as women’s golf or tennis, and after more than two decades, Sommer is no longer willing to spend more of his own money on the tour, and he realized that fresh ideas, new resources, and a new philosophy and new management are needed for the tour to survive and go to the next level.
After looking at several options, Sanders is Sommer’s choice for that new management, and PWBA was turned over to Sanders’ Pinacle Events on September 2, “contingent on due diligence”. It’s a situation, on a smaller scale, exactly like bowling industry giant AMF is experiencing right now. Like the prospective buyer of AMF, reported to be Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, Sanders is examining the books, talking to sponsors and industry officials, and determining if the risk of taking over is worth the potential reward.
In my opinion, two things are certain. One is that Steve Sanders is the best person to take on this difficult and challenging task. The other certainty is that he cannot do it alone. It will take the cooperation and financial partnerships of dozens, including sponsors, bowling centers, associations, television entities, and players. For Sanders to be successful, everyone must step forward and get behind the PWBA, and they must do so enthusiastically, not reluctantly. When they get the opportunity to see Sanders’ business plan, I believe they will.
Sanders has been very successful in bowling event management for more than a decade. He has a marketing degree, and he is one of the best promotors and salesmen I’ve ever seen in this industry. He has enough financial resources to sustain the tour in a rebuilding period, but it will not be too similar to the approach taken by Chris Peters with the PBA. Sanders is not willing to spend $30-40 million before turning a profit, nor is it necessary. He also has one very valuable asset that the new PBA owners didn’t have - a thorough understanding of the sport and the industry. Although he doesn’t have much time for it these days, he has a background as a bowler himself, and he has a midas touch for building successful events.
I know it’s inevitable, but I hope industry people and journalists don’t compare Sanders every move with the PBA, because the business models are very different. It now looks like the PBA can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but even they will probably admit they made a few mistakes along the way, one being their early assumption that they didn’t necessarily need the enthusiastic cooperation of the industry. They are now finally embracing the industry and finding the road a little smoother.
One of the options rumored in recent times was that the PBA would assume control of the PWBA, but I never thought that was a good idea, nor did I think WIBC or ABC taking over the reins was feasible. Those organizations have their own agendas and their own challenges right now, and the PWBA would not have become a priority project under their leadership.
On the other hand, it is a natural for Pinacle Events. Sanders has built one of the best event management companies in the industry, and the PWBA will become an important part of it. Pinacle’s Mini Eliminator events have become, in ten years, the most successful amateur tournaments in the world. Sanders also has extensive experience on the professional side of the sport.
I first knew about Steve when he worked with the late Buddy Finkleberg to create the original megabuck event the American Dream Classic. Finkleberg moved his operation to Las Vegas, and after his death, the International Eliminator tournament started at Sam’s Town, and Sanders worked with Mike Kaufman and LPBT to make that event successful. That’s where I first met him. While I was doing publicity for the IE, Steve was running the brackets and sweepers.
In 1994, he started the Mini Eliminator as a spinoff of the IE, and for many years I have been proud to be the media director for the Mini and other Pinacle events. Last year, he started the Brunswick Senior World Open, and in November, the Brunswick 40 Plus World Open will roll in Las Vegas; premier events for both pros and amateurs.
Sanders also has extensive experience and success in promoting and operating pure professional events. His first really big event was the 1996 BPAA Senior U.S. Open held at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas. It drew a record field of over 450 players and put Pinacle Events and Steve Sanders on the map as a top event promotor and operator.
After the success of that Senior U.S. Open, Steve landed a lucrative sponsorship for the PBA Senior Tour with The Villages Resort in Florida, and several incredible events were held there, with outdoor finals and winners getting new $100,000 homes to go with their cash prizes. In 2001, Jason Couch won the Villages PBA Open on the regular tour, also with an outdoor finals, and also staged by Sanders. Sanders also promoted and partnered with the PBA in running the Long Island Open, near his home, with arena finals held at the famous Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut. Today, the PBA Tournament of Champions is held in that arena, a carryover of the original deal made by Sanders.
Another important reason why Sanders has been and will continue to be successful is because he has his priorities straight, and family is at the top of his list. Steve’s wife Valerie is an investment executive for Oppenheimer, and he and Val are the proud parents of two young boys. On September 11, 2001, Val was in her office on one of the lower floors of the World Trade Center. Her survival of that tragic day was a life changing experience for the Sanders family, and a reminder to all of us that family, and faith, and freedom must be our most important focus. During the Mini Eliminator events, Steve can be heard almost every day talking to Val and the boys by phone. He may not notice that we notice, but we do, and it’s refreshing and inspiring to see someone who is so busy also dedicating himself to his family.
If anyone can make the PWBA more successful than it’s ever been, it’s Steve Sanders. It may take a few years, and it may require patience and understanding from players and others, but with his energy and ideas and sales ability, I have no doubt it will happen, and I can hardly wait to see the new era of women’s professional bowling begin!