The Bowling Center at San Jose State University

Closed till August of 2016 (approximately). Check the SJSU website or the Facebook page for the bowling center to get accurate updates as the date approaches.

When this place was open they had great deals on pool tables i definetly love hitting this place up its so cheap and convenient

Not just b/​c im a SJSU alumni, but I really do love SJSU Bowling Ctr. You get to bowl for hella cheap and it’s a relaxed environment. Whenever I go, there hasn’t been major events, so it hasn’t been too packed. Maybe I have just been real lucky.
Price:
For students — $ 2.00/game $ 1.75 shoe rental
For public — $ 3.00/game $ 2.50 shoe rental

I just bowled here today! :) I had fun, they were very accommodating and patient to our large group. Between 8 – 10 you can bowl in the dark and they turn the music on. Our youth group had a blast, and the prices were more reasonable to our teenagers who have very little. haha They have something for everyone. We will be visiting again; even though I suck… HAHA!

This place is great! I’m a non-​student and the rates were still great! Much cheaper than most other bowling allies, and they were open when most other places had league! It’s pretty small so getting there ahead of the crowd is recommended. I really liked this place though and will definitely be returning.

They usually stock the latest arcade games in here and they are always so well kept. For some reason the bowling lanes always seem so small to me. But hey, you can’t beat the prices. Just keep an eye on your belongings.

Trust me, this is place where you will have the most fun on the San Jose State University of Campus. They have about 10 bowling alleys, but there is more to this place. One room has video games and vending machines. Another room has pool tables. And the last room has ping pong tables.
They are open late hours. Staff is friendly and non-​invasive. They also have different promotions going on. Sorry but I am not up to date on their promotions. They do have night bowling (I believe on Friday or Saturday night) where they turn off the lights and the alleys light up. Or is that called Cosmic Bowling. Guess it is called different things. Video game tournaments occur here as well and they seem to be very popular.
Probably the only thing I wish is that they served food/​drinks (not vending machines). Would be great if they offered something like popcorn, soft pretzels, and beer. Beer goes great with college. Guess soda/​bottled water for the members of Team Jesus or Team Tebow.
Why the Union also doesn’t stay open later is a mystery to me? If you need to enter this place at later hours, you must use the stairs and take them down. Down towards the Heaven of Fun.

If you are looking for an inexpensive, non-​luxurious, and quiet bowling alley. This is the place for you! Considering that this bowling alley is part of the school, it is convenient for SJSU students to go here.
It cost $ 2.00 a game for SJSU students (valid student I.D.). $ 3.00 a game for non-​students. Shoe rentals are $ 1.75 for SJSU students (valid student I.D.) and $ 2.50 for non-​students. I like how this bowling alley also has a billiard, table tennis, and arcades nearby.
The rental shoes here are in decent condition, they look like it has not been replaced for years. They have the standard size and weight in balls, but the balls are not in great shape, from the looks of it, the balls have been completely overused. For the lanes itself, the lanes are very narrow and the distance to pins are short. Meaning, SJSU lanes are not the standard size professional lanes, which are longer in distance and wider.
Overall, its a decent looking and inexpensive bowling alley. If you are a SJSU, this place in right around the corner — no need to go to another bowling alley.

Don’t get me wrong… it’s pretty cool that SJSU has its own bowling alley. But this one has the feel of something that might be crammed onto a cruise ship… subtract the booze, add the nasty vending machines.

I like this place good, cheap, quiet and not too many people so I don’t feel embarrassed at being so horrible. Best to come on Tuesday nights from 6 – 11 2 bucks for 2 games for SJSU students and 4 for 2 games for non students. A pretty big variety of balls but they’re not in as good of shape compared to other places but the price makes up for that.

I’ve had a great time here! It’s cheap and the cashier girl was the most cutest girls I’ve ever seen it was like love at first sight, and if that doesn’t catch your attention, the all day $ 3.00 per game chance will catch your attention. The scenery is not so good but that just cuhz they’re not trying to impress you! They provide us with a good place to bowl with a great price! Wonderful Place! only downside is the hassle of finding the right ball for you, but it makes it all up with the wonderful arcade right outside (:

I go to school in Davis so when I went to SJSU bowling alley I expected it to be just as big but it was about half the size with less fancy lights and decoration, but that was ok. Finding a smaller/​lighter ball was difficult though, I couldn’t find the right size for me. I liked how the girl there gave me and my friend the student discount even though we weren’t SJSU students. It was only 3.75 for ea/​person for rental plus the game. My shoes were also super new and nice (probably because it was a size 5). My friend’s shoes were rather old and dingy though. The bowling alley is also connected to an arcade which was fun.

I gotta Five Stars this place.
This is where I hung out, worked, bowled, played video games, shot pool and met some of the best friends of my life.
Cheap olé bowling for students and non-​students. Very family oriented and clean — no smoking and alcohol allowed in the bowling center. 14 lanes, gets pretty busy on weekend nights — so always good to call ahead.
Downside: i’m not working there anymore HAHA jk. Parking can be a pain sometimes since its at a school. Bring your own food since the café upstairs is closed early.

This is a straight-​up bowling alley. Not a lot of places to just that anymore. Granted, there’s an arcade right next to it, but that’s AWAY from the Bowling Alley.
For like $ 2 with an SJSU Student ID, you get a game. On some days, there are specials.
Because this place doesn’t serve any food (but you can get some upstairs), the bowling balls aren’t as grossly greasy as they would be in other areas. However, there really isn’t that big of a variety of bowling balls, so it might do you some good to bring your own.
One thing worth noting is that the lanes are shorter than most commercial bowling alleys, so you can expect games to be «easier.»
Other than that, it’s a good run-​of-​the-​mill bowling alley. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The price is what makes this place great. If you dont mind altering your own score because the sensors never pick up the pins right, waiting for your ball to be returned after calling a maintenance worker or be in the middle of the game of your life and have all the pins just drop out and spit right back at you, then SJSU BOWLING ALLEY is for you!
my friend and i joined a league here over the fall, it was really fun, the people are awesome and everyone has a great time. The screens are updated which is nice, but the overall machinery could use an overhaul. Its perfect for students, cheap dates and friendly competition. Dont expect a novelty snack shack, or a world class pro shop, but they do have quite the selection of towels and chalk.
The experience is priceless. well, $ 2 games, $ 2 shoe rental if you need one, if you join a league it goes down to $ 1 games. Awesome.
oh gotta check out RED PIN BOWLING ON WED!!!

Cheap, salt-​of-​the-​earth bowling here. It’s not like those new-​age pretentious bowling alleys that are more like lounges than bowling alleys. There aren’t recessed lighting fixtures, nor are there waitresses in high heels and short skirts serving you cocktails. The computer interfaces are very Windows 98. There’s an arcade next to it! Maybe they’re more common here, but in my hometown there’s a lack of these types of classic bowling joints.
So why all the praise? Because it’s cheap! Really cheap! SJSU students have it even cheaper. I came down with some of my SCU and SJSU buddies and we bowled two games for dirt cheap. They’ve also got a little game going on where if you have a colored pin in front of the stack (as in it’s pin number 1) and you nail a strike, you win something like a free game of bowling or free ping pong table rental depending on the color of the pin. Make sure to either notify one of the clerks or film it or something so they know you aren’t full of it.

300!
What are you going to review for your 300^th review? I don’t really care…
THIS IS SPARTA!
No…This is the Spartan’s bowling haven located next to all the animé-​loving AZN nerds in the arcade and the fobs playing ping pong in the downstairs section of San Jose State’s Student Union.
I think it was like $ 2 a game for non-​SJSU students. Not sure how much it was for SJSU students. Friend used to or still does? work there, but she was never there when we went, so I never got the hook up there.
It’s one of the smallest bowling alley’s I’ve ever been to. 6 lanes barely beats the 8 lanes of Gilroy’s ghetto wack ass bowling alley.
Boo to SCU’s Benson Center for getting flooded downstairs and having the bowling alley removed before I was a freshman there.
But yeah, can’t go wrong with some cheap bowling for practice. Too bad my bowling wrist is the same wrist I’ve fractured, sprained, and broken on 3 different occasions in my life. Never bowled anything close to a 300 with a P.R. of a measly 163, but I like saying 300. Cause yeah… THIS IS SPARTAAA!!!
Steeeeeriiiiike!!!

SJSU’s Bowling Center is AWESOME! If you’re student (or even former student, doesn’t matter, as long as you have a SJSU Student ID), bowling is super cheap — only $ 1.25/game and only $ 2/​game for non-​students. There are 6 bowling lanes here, and I’ve never seen it get crowded or ever had to wait for a lane to open up. It’s like a diamond in the rough, or whatever other cliché you might want to think of.
It’s a freakin’ bargain compared to the outrageous prices you have to pay for bowling at 360 bowling and Strikes, both of which charge $ 8/​game. absolutely ridiculous (yea yea. I know they say you’re paying for the atmosphere and blah blah blah. whateverz. I just wants to be able to bowl some cheap games).
Oh yea, btw, if you’re not a big fan of bowling, there’s also an arcade just outside the bowling alley, as well as ping pong tables for you to battle it out on as well. In any case, always good & cheap fun for everyone.

I went here on a Friday night and I was impressed. It’s not like the newer bowling centers (Strike or 300) with modernized lounges and high tech lighting, but it is satisfactory when it comes to just playing the game.
Bowling here is cheap… and even for non-​students. I spent about $ 5 for one game AND shoe rental. At other centers, I spent $ 5 just for one game… and $ 8 on weekends! Too bad I couldn’t use my prehistoric SJSU ID card. If they would accept it, I’d be paying less than $ 2 per game.
Hungry? Expect vending machines only, since there is no restaurant/​bar like at 300 or Strike. With dining tables present, looks like you can bring in outside food. I’m rating this place for the activity… and apparently they have others. You can rent out paddles for ping pong, shoot pool, or play in their decent arcade.
Wait time is very minimal or non-​existent… compared to the other bowling joints. The only flaw I noticed was in the scoring. When my cousin hit 9 pins, the screen/​computer said it was a strike. It only did this a couple of times and was corrected. At least it’s better than keeping score yourself, writing it on overhead transparency like in the old days. Their weekday hours are comparable to other bowling centers… but during the summer months, they may be closed on weekends.
This whole experience brought me back to my old school days at the student union. I would come back here for another game and also ping pong. 4 stars for low budget fun and lane availability. You sure get your money’s worth here at this small bowling center. Just don’t expect the glitz and glamour.

It’s amazing how much some places will charge for a lane rental. I can understand why a place like «Strikes of Cupertino» will do it… they’re charging for a nice atmosphere to lounge around. But why so expensive for just a regular drop-​in and bowl experience everywhere else? If you’re looking just for a place to bowl and not empty out your pocket at the same time, try this place. I consider it my safe haven from other overcharging bowling centers.
Even though it’s located in the Student Union on campus, non-​students can walk on and play as well. I’m surprised that it’s not that busy, and I’ve never had to wait for a lane so far (even during nights on a weekend). Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far (and gone when they’re having midterms or finals) but I hope it keeps up this way.
5 stars for convenience, no-​wait time, and great prices.