Lawrence bridge players are finding that a new home is bringing new enthusiasm and interest to their complex card game.

For the first time anyone can recall, local bridge groups and clubs are playing under one roof. They have joined forces to lease a large room at the I-70 Business Center just north of the Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles driver’s license office.

Though bridge games started in the new location in February, it was just a week ago that a celebration marked the grand opening of the Kaw Valley Bridge Center. Dozens of people attended.

“It was a big party,” said Virginia Seaver. “We started at 9:30 (a.m.) with coffee and rolls and by noon we’d played a couple of hands. Then we had a big banquet. There was a lot of food.”

For years, five local bridge groups each with an average of 30 players, have met at scattered locations at different times to play duplicate bridge. Primary locations were the Lawrence County Club, 400 Country Club Terrace, and the Lawrence Senior Center.

Chuck Hedges, a retired real estate agent, was on a committee that sought out a central location and ultimately picked the I-70 center.

“We have a wonderful facility where we can leave our tables out,” Hedges said. “We have control of the thermostat. We have a lot of parking and easy access.”

The bridge groups sometimes draw other players from Kansas City, Topeka, Ottawa and Manhattan and the current location is easy to find, Hedges said. He also noted that bathrooms were adjacent to the room.

To pay the rent, bridge players are now handing over $5 to play a game. Kaw Valley Bridge Center officers will soon be elected to manage the center and an annual membership fee will be considered.

Bridge players from left, Nita Scales, Mary Joyce and Florine Creek play bridge at the Kaw Valley Bridge Center now located at the former Tanger Outlet Mall. The group had been playing at scattered locations around town and now has a more permanent home.

“Everybody’s just thrilled with this place,” said Chris Lane, 60, who said she’d been playing bridge since she was in college.

Margrete Hartman remembered how playing bridge her first night at the center made her forget about her coffee drinking habit.

“The first night, we came here at 6:30 and it was 9:15 before I ever thought about getting my first cup of coffee,” she said.

The center represents more than a game, however, to Betty Spalsbury, who at 92 may be the city’s oldest bridge player.

“It’s the people,” Spalsbury said. “At my age it is such fun to be out playing with people. There are wonderful people who play bridge.”

Bridge players fill the Kaw Valley Bridge Center at the former Tanger Outlet Mall Wednesday in North Lawrence. The group had played in different locations around town but now has a more permanent home.

Bridge is a game dominated by senior citizens. Seaver, 85, once the editor at University Press, has been playing since she was a little girl. Her husband, James Seaver, a retired Kansas University history professor, also is a longtime player.

“Bridge is a game that is highly recommended for senior citizens,” said Seaver, 85, “It keeps their minds busy. It keeps them thinking.”

But more young people also are becoming interested in playing, Seaver said, including those in their 20s and 30s.

Don Brennaman agreed. He directs a Monday night bridge session designed for beginning and new players. He even gives free bridge lessons at 6 p.m. with regular play beginning at 6:45 p.m. Playing bridge on the Internet is a growing interest among young people, he said.

Brennaman is preparing to teach a bridge course online. The course will initially be free and he expects it to be ready in the early summer.

“I think it will definitely work,” Brennaman, 55, said. “This is the only way bridge is going to come back. It’s because the kids learn it this way.”

In June Brennaman will teach a Bridge II class for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.