Sport of ‘Fowling’ Could Make its Debut at Old Brewery

AUBURN HILLS, MI — “Fowling,” the union of two great American sporting pastimes, is expected to make its debut at the Big Buck Brewery and breathe new life to an iconic structure that has been shuttered for nearly a decade.

The site's planned developer, Gary Tenaglia, submitted a plan to redevelop the former steakhouse and brewery to the city.

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. After almost 10 years of vacancy and neglect, the former Big Buck Brewery building will see new life,” Community Development Director Steve Cohen said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The Big Buck Brewery was built in 1997, but closed in December 2006 after filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

According to Washington, DC-based real estate information service CoStar Group Inc., the 26,400-square-foot Big Buck Brewery property is located on 4.5 acres of prime real estate along Interstate 75, and is owned by the Michael Eyde Trust.

The plan calls for 16 courts for fowling, a game in which participants knock down bowling pins with footballs. Also included in the plans are two bars, fast-casual dining space and two private event rooms, as well as ample parking with 240 parking spaces.

The new fowling venue will be know as the Hub, and will employ about 150 full- and part-time employees, when it reopens.

Tenaglia said he hopes to have The Hub open for fowling fun by the end of this year.
"Got a long way to go, but that's what we are working hard at trying to reach," he said.

Stephanie Carroll, Auburn Hills manager of business development and community relations, said the building is structurally sound, and will require a lot of work to have it ready for business.

"It's been neglected the last 10 years," Carroll told Crain’s Detroit Business. "As any building that sits vacant for 10 years, there needs to be some pretty major renovations. The structure is sound. But things fail over time, the floors, certain beams, and I'm sure they are going to have to replace some windows."

So, what is fowling?

Fowling sounds like something that might have been invented by a group of inebriated college frat boys, but it was actually created by Chris Hutt while tailgating at the Indianapolis 500 several years ago, TIME magazine reported.

Last year, Hutt brought the game to his hometown of Detroit, and opened the 34,000 square-foot Fowling Warehouse 2015.

The rules of the game are pretty simple.

Two teams face off (maybe 25 yards apart) facing a board of 10 pins, just like bowling.

The teams take turns trying to knock down the other teams 10 pin set-up by tossing the football back and forth.

If one team gets a strike (knocking all of the pins down with the ball) that team wins.

If your team gets a “bonk” — knocking down the middle pin with the first throw, while leaving the other pins standing — then your team also wins, and you get to blow the “Bonk Honk” at the bar, which is apparently obnoxiously loud but fun.

Some obvious no-nos are that teams cannot play defense, Hutt told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, a public meeting on the Auburn Hills site plan is scheduled at the Planning Commission on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. Anyone who is interested in hearing about the proposal should plan on attending this meeting in the Council Chamber at City Hall. A final decision on the application is expected to be made by the City Council on Monday, Sept. 26.

Image credit: City of Auburn Hills