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NAS Whidbey Island Opens Convergence Zone

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS091021-33
Release Date: 10/21/2009 3:13:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tucker M. Yates, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West, Det. Northwest

OAK HARBOR, Wash. (NNS) -- Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island held a ribbon-cutting to commemorate the grand opening of The Convergence Zone entertainment facility Oct. 16.

Formerly known as Whidbey Lanes and Whidbey Entertainment Center, the enhanced facility was the result of focus groups held in March 2008 that revealed the need for all-around, family-focused amusement on board NAS Whidbey Island.

"I got here two years ago and the first thing I got told was that Whidbey Island doesn't have a Chuck E. Cheese on it and [NAS Whidbey Island families] have kids and during the winter they don't have a place to play," said Capt. Gerral David, NAS Whidbey Island commanding officer. "That year we lost money on bowling, so we started thinking 'do we really need 24 lanes of bowling?'"

The event featured free bowling and free food as well as face-painting, magic, clowns, juggling and balloon animals provided by Live Wires out of Seattle.

The project cost a total of $800,000 with $650,000 funded by Commander, Navy Installations Command for renovation, $50,000 for equipment and $100,000 being the result of NAS Whidbey Island's Installation Excellence Award. Construction for the project by Northwest McGrath JV, NAS Whidbey Island Public Works and NAS Whidbey Island Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) with assistance from Chugach Industries Inc., New Leaf Inc. and NAS Whidbey Island Information Resource Management began April 20.

"The contractor was great to work with. They went above and beyond to get the job done on time and they were great at getting all the details done. It all seemed to flow real nice and gave us a quality product here that everybody can enjoy," said Johnny Almaguer, of NAS Whidbey Island Public Works. "Everybody did a fantastic job to get it done on time and on budget."

The result was the removal of 12 of the 24 lanes of bowling to be replaced with two batting cages, an indoor playground, a toddler play area, a climbing wall, air hockey, shuffleboard, billiards tables, ping pong and foosball. In addition, the library was moved from the Nor'Wester Activity Center into Convergence Zone. The facility retains Kegler's café, Back Alley bar, General Quarters paintball and the facilities housed by the Gamers Alley, such as video game consoles, computers and Wi-Fi capability. Improvements to the 12 remaining bowling lanes included new masking units and bumpers.

"This is simply unbelievable; this is a place I'll definitely bring my kid on a routine basis. The amenities provided are unbelievable," said Chief Master-at-Arms (SW) Eric Wynn, of NAS Whidbey Island Security.

"If you have a family where you have [children of different ages] the whole family can come and sit down and eat then everyone can do their activities in the same area. It's nice," said Lt. Laura Reeves, of NAS Whidbey Island.

In keeping with the name, Convergence Zone, the tagline for the facility is "Where people and fun come together."

"I'm really proud of this; I hope you take advantage of it," said David. "In fact, I hope you take so much advantage of it that we find out its not big enough. Tell your friends and get everybody to come out here."