Steven Petherbridge / Times-Record
Nicholas Pfeifer, left, bowls at Sky Lanes earlier this month as a member of the youth bowling program. The popular Valley City bowling alley was at risk of closing this summer, but new owners stepped in and are refurbishing the building.

By Steven Petherbridge 

The bowling lanes at the top of the hill came through the clutch this summer, as a group of area investors saw a need and rose to the occasion.
Bowling Investment Group Inc. is a group of 11 men and women who knew Valley City had to keep Sky Lanes open. The bowling center is on the southwest edge of town.
“We weren’t really trying to own a bowling alley; we were just trying to make sure that Valley City had one,” said group member Greg Burchill. “We couldn’t just not have a bowling center.”
Harold Hoff of Valley City owned Sky Lanes within a partnership for 40 years. But as the last surviving partner, he began to face mounting problems, including failing health and the need for reinvestment in the bowling center. He knew it was time to sell.
“We had guys in Jamestown, Bismarck and Fargo who were interested, but they eventually backed off,” said Hoff. “There were a lot of buyers, but nobody with money.”
As problems persisted, Hoff decided he may have to close Sky Lanes.
That’s when Bowling Investment Group, or BIG, stepped in.
“It would have been devastating to the kids and to the community if we would have lost that bowling center,” said Mary Berntson, a member of BIG. Berntson is an organizer of, and a coach within, the Sky Lanes youth bowling program.