The government’s never had a better chance to save The Planet

The Planet is a business offering family fun from days gone by. The government can step up to help fund its relocation.

Planet Tenpin in Nightcliff is closing down. The building will be demolished and a new childcare centre will be built in its place. Owner Bruno Maglieri laments the closure. Picture: Che Chorley

“SOMETIMES you want to go; where everybody knows your name.” So went the theme song from the 1980s sitcom Cheers. And while Cheers was about a bar in Boston named the Beacon Hill, it’s a theme plenty of people can no-doubt relate to. Here in Darwin, my family’s Beacon Hill is The Planet – a bowing alley in Nightcliff that will take you on a retro journey back to an era when Cheers was the best rating show on your analog TV.

My children have been going to The Planet since before they could walk. In their early years it was a young parent’s saviour. The indoor play centre the only airconditioned place in town where a toddler could safely roam while their parents enjoyed a coffee and a moment of peace. A lightning bolt recently spelled the end for Planet Junior, but my kids had already graduated to the big time – the bowling alleys.

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These days their names are entered into the computer before they’ve arrived at the counter. Bumpers for Seb, Eve and Molly, three chocolate milks, and a bowl of the best chips in town.

In an age when kids (and their parents) are addicted to screens, The Planet is the best hour of family fun you’re ever likely to find. A walk back to a simpler time when bowling and board games were enough to keep us entertained.

Of course The Planet is not just for hacks like me. For more than 40 years it’s been the breeding ground for the Territory’s best tenpin bowlers. People who’ve gone on to excel on the national stage. For many of those 40 years The Planet sat next to Skateworld – a roller skating rink that’s since gone the way of the video store. Today they’re building a $50m police station near the old Skateworld site; a sign, perhaps, of the times.

And soon, sadly, The Planet too will go. Replaced by offices and a childcare centre. In some ways it’s remarkable The Planet has survived as long as it has.

There were grave fears for the bowling alley in 2015, when Ardent Leisure opened one of its Kingpin chains a couple of kilometres up the road. Former Australian No. 1 tournament bowler Bruno Maglieri was among those who wondered how long The Planet could survive.

“I don’t think there’s room for two that close together,” he said at time.

Bruno then did everything in his power to prove himself wrong.

In 2017 he bought the business and turned it around. Despite setbacks such as lightning strikes and a pandemic, The Planet has seen a 20 per cent increase in sales. In recent times, the biggest problem has been trying to get a lane.

I’m no professional bowler, but I can tell you from experience that comparing The Planet to Kingpin is like comparing centre court at Wimbledon to the tennis court my old man built in the front paddock at the farm.

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But The Planet’s recent success is about more than just the quality of its bowling lanes. It’s about the quality of the service – the kind of service, to borrow a phrase from Cheers, where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. This is a place where childhood memories are made.

The Planet will close on May 3. When it does, a little bit of Nightcliff will die with it. And while the venue itself can’t be revived, there’s still an opportunity for The Planet to find a new home. The owners say a new development will cost $2.5m, and right now they’re $1.2m short. That’s a fraction of the money taxpayers invest every year into dozens of other sports. The government’s never had a better chance to save The Planet. If it does, it will be saving much more than just a bowling alley.