Tulsa's Rose Bowl sold

It's been bought, sold, and burned, more than once. What's the next chapter in the Rose Bowl's colorful history?A new buyer closed on the building Tuesday and News on 6 business reporter Steve

Wednesday, February 22nd 2006, 3:47 pm

By: News On 6

It's been bought, sold, and burned, more than once. What's the next chapter in the Rose Bowl's colorful history?A new buyer closed on the building Tuesday and News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the Rose Bowl may bloom again.

"A lot of people have had a lot of memories here. I'm sure a lot of people have gotten engaged here or proposed to or had a lot of good time here." Businessman Sam Baker has always liked the Route 66 icon.

He says he bowled here a few times himself. But really, he says he bought it for location. "We needed a little more room. We own the property next door and we were looking for an opportunity to expand and this was about the only choice we had."

Baker says the possibilities for the building are almost endless. It could have car shows or a flea market or a nightclub. Ironically, the one thing it won't be is a bowling alley. "Can't be a bowling alley anymore, that was part of the agreement when we bought it.â€

AMF, who sold the building to Baker, owns another bowling alley in Tulsa and apparently, he says, they didn't want another competitor.

Not to worry, says Baker, it's still solid as a rock and he says he can probably find a use for it."It's a great landmark here on Route 66. It's a great architectural piece of work. We're really not considering knocking it down. We really think it's too nice a building to knock down at this point."

The Rose Bowl was built back in 1962. It closed early last year.