The Italian Bowl’s return to the University of Toledo Glass Bowl next year brings with it a new mindset for several Toledo-area movers and shakers.
No longer is there a sense of apprehension or anxiety about whether it’s a good idea or not to host the Italian Football League’s championship game, as the city did in 2023.
They know it is. They know there’s more to reap in dollars than the $1.9 million that Destination Toledo has determined the 2023 game had on the local economy. It helps raise Toledo’s profile on the international scale, and the effort has now shifted to a goal of trying to play host every two years.
“We're establishing a pattern where it will be in Toledo on odd years,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “This is really important for Toledo. To state the obvious, it's not always that we have 2,000 Italian tourists living in our city for five days. It's not just a one-day event.”
While such an every-other-year schedule remains wishful thinking for now, several people believe the game returning to Toledo for Italian Football League’s 2025 championship is an encouraging sign.
“I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility,” Nick Eyde, managing member of GEYDE Development and an Italian Bowl USA board member, said.
The buzz created by the announcement already has people envisioning what to bring back and what to build upon for the next championship game, which will be the Italian League’s 44th and be held at the Glass Bowl in June of 2025.
There was a week-long list of events leading up to the 2023 game, from wine tastings to special dinners at Italian restaurants.
Included for the visitors was a road trip to the National Football League’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
There’s talk of a possible road trip next year to either the Detroit Lions or Cleveland Browns training camps, Mr. Kapszukiewicz and Mr. Eyde said.
“The first time, you learn a lot,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “It's safe to assume the event will be bigger and more lucrative in 2025.”
The mayor’s research included a trip this summer to the league’s 43rd championship game in Ravenna, Italy, more than 4,500 miles from Toledo.
He said there were about 2,000 people in the stands there, considerably fewer than the 12,000 at the Glass Bowl in 2023.
Toledo is well-situated as a host city, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said, given the state of Ohio’s legendary connections to football.
Legend has it that Notre Dame great Knute Rockne and teammate Gus Dorais invented the forward pass at Cedar Point Beach in 1913, when both worked there. Mr. Rockne, the Notre Dame quarterback, was a lifeguard. Mr. Dorais played split end. The claim appears on a Cedar Point timeline , its website , and a Rockne historic archive , among other sources.
And, of course, Super Bowl footballs are made at the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio.
“Successful cities need to find unique and creative ways to attract visitors,” Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. “This is one of those.”
Another one of the selling points is an intangible, Toledo’s down-home charm, according to Mr. Eyde, who played five years as a quarterback in the Italian Football League and is connected to many players and coaches there.
Many of those who came in 2023 said they liked Toledo because they “felt like this was the Real America,” he said.
Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki counts herself among the region’s biggest supporters of the game.
She said the excitement leading up to it in 2023 was akin to what happens in America during Super Bowl week.
“It's not just the game, but working up to the game,” she said. “If someone has a great experience here, they're going to be our best marketing tool. That's why I think this is going to grow. And why not? That economic impact could be more than we're thinking about.”
Commissioner Sobecki said the Italian Bowl helps put Toledo on the international stage much like the Solheim Cup did in 2021 and 2013, when top women professional golfers from Europe and the United States competed at the Inverness Club.
“Look at what we did with Solheim Cup,” she said. “It's an international event. We're on the international stage.”
Lance Woodworth, Destination Toledo president and chief executive officer, said the approximate 3,000 out-of-town visitors who came for the game or during the week of the 2023 event spent $1.1 million at local businesses such as restaurants, hotels, shops, and attractions, which resulted in a total economic impact of $1.9 million when accounting for indirect and induced spending.
“The event also supported over 1,000 jobs and generated $43,000 in local tax revenue,” he said. “Visitor spending is only one indicator of the impact this event had on the city. Beyond being a signature sporting event, it served as a cultural celebration and a catalyst for business discussions through associated [Regional Growth Partnership] and Jobs Ohio programming. The event also generated valuable media coverage both locally and in Italy, further establishing Toledo as a premier destination for significant events and a thriving hub for business.”
Like others, Mr. Woodworth expects the 2025 event to be bigger and better.
“I expect the 2025 event to surpass the 2023 event in terms of attendance and programming,” he said. “Leveraging what was learned in 2023, organizers are committed to building on that success and further growing the event.”
Geoff Shook, Buckeye Broadband president, had similar thoughts.
“We’re ready,” he said. “Northwest Ohio came together in 2023 to host a successful event and we know we can continue to build from there.”
Mr. Kapszukiewicz said the city is committed to making the Italian Bowl a “top end experience” for visitors, and is optimistic about eventually getting an every-other-year commitment.
“I can see this growing into a relationship where the championship comes here every odd year,” he said. “The early signs are encouraging.”
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