Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island held a ribbon-cutting July 17 to commemorate the opening of its newest addition to the
Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities: Gamers Alley in the Whidbey Entertainment Center. MWR aimed to create a venue
similar to the Liberty Northwest Center—a facility for single Sailors that’s open to all Navy personnel, Department of Defense
civilians and their family members.
“Our mission here is to support the fleet, fighter and family—this is support of the fighter and family,” said Cmdr. Matt Miller,
NAS Whidbey executive officer. “This concept started with the galley and Liberty (Northwest) Center.  That’s a great concept, so
we bring that concept here.”
Construction began in early April converting the under utilized game room in the bowling alley. The MWR construction team, NAS
Whidbey Island Self-Help and civilian contractors all contributed.
“I can’t say anything but ‘thank you’ to everyone who came in and helped out,” said Chris Braun, Whidbey Entertainment Center
manager. “Without them this couldn’t have been done.”
The facility features eight 37-inch and four 47-inch televisions with 16 gaming consoles, which are linked to allow competitive
gaming with other stations. The interconnectivity even goes so far as to link up with Liberty Northwest for even larger competitive
and cooperative play. There are also 11 computer stations, a pool table and the whole building has Wi-Fi capability which was
provided by Commander, Naval Installations Command. The center was built with the capability to expand if required or desired.
“The commands came to us and our customers came to us and we saw a trend.  Nowadays people use electronics; they’re not into
button-mashing (arcade) games, they’re not into playing Yahtzee, they’re into high-tech video and computer games,” said Braun.
The hours of operation will coincide with the bowling alley. The facility is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays;
11 a.m. to midnight, Fridays and Saturdays; and 1 to 9 p.m. Sundays.
Completion of the center marks the end of phase I for renovations to Whidbey Lanes. Planning for phase II is currently in progress,
which could possibly lead to in an indoor playground at Whidbey Entertainment Center.
“We’re trying to make this a destination point to fit everyone’s needs, from the smallest children all the way up to adults,” said Braun.