Having been in Katy for 11 years, Times Square Entertainment is a family-owned business known for its bowling and laser tag. Barry Chapman—owner and founder of Times Square—was an oil industry engineer when he decided he wanted to do something different. Raised in Ohio, Chapman said he bowled at Cincinnati Western Bowl and always liked the idea of an entertainment center. “It was one of those things that [I thought] this was a good deal,” Chapman said. Concerned about the oil industry’s ups and downs, Chapman left his job in 1994 and bought 300 Bowl, a bowling center in Conroe. In 2005, he opened Times Square Entertainment in Katy. “We chose Katy just because it’s one of the fastest-growing communities,” Chapman said. Times Square Entertainment features  a restaurant and bar, a 36-lane bowling alley—with six of the lanes in a private bowling suite—an arcade, 11 pool tables, a laser tag arena and meeting space. The 48,000-square-feet, venue frequently serves as a site for corporate events and birthday parties and has 11 TV screens in its restaurant, the Manhattan Sports Bar and Grill. The restaurant serves burgers, pizza, salads, appetizers and other dishes. Chapman said he is open to the idea of expanding in other areas. Times Square events coordinator Felicia Norman said the center is home to various bowling leagues. The entertainment center also supports six Katy ISD high school bowling teams that use the center for practice and regular season matches. The business also started hosting regional competitions this year, Chapman said. Times Square does not host Katy ISD regional competitions, however, because of a stipulation against a home advantage, but the entertainment center hosted a Cy-Fair regional in March. In league bowling, Chapman said Times Square has about 600 people coming in to bowl a week. Norman said Times Square also participates in a national program called Kids Bowl Free. Parents interested in the program can sign up online to receive coupons for their children to bowl two free games every day between April 1 and Oct. 1. To help the high school teams that practice at Times Square, Norman said those students can come bowl three free games on days when they are not practicing. Whether it is a competition or laser tag, Chapman said the business is all about having fun. “You have people [who] are coming to have fun, so when you go to work you’re surrounded by people who want to have fun,” Chapman said.