YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mahoning Valley has always been one of North America’s epicenters of bocce.
Now it will be the site of one of its first semipro bocce leagues.
The Ohio Bocce League is currently soliciting team owners and players for its inaugural season, which will begin Sept. 23 and run through early December.
All games will be played at the private Lorenzino’s Bocce Club on Jacobs Road on the East Side, which features state of the art synthetic courts and an adjoining bar and restaurant.
The league aims to grow into an enduring and profitable venture, says commissioner and founder Danny Catullo of Youngstown. Its team rosters will be filled with the best players in the region – and the country.
Dante Chiovitti of Youngstown, owner of Lorenzino’s, will be a franchise owner and a player.
The fee to own a franchise is $6,000. Revenue will come in the form of broadcast sponsors, advertising, apparel sales and other means.
“We are trying to get major sponsors like Barstool Sports that want to be focused on the next big thing,” Catullo says.
The league is looking for owners who can see the game’s potential for growth and want to get in on the ground floor. For information, go to OhioBocceLeague.com. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 11.
“To anyone who is interested, I would be happy to tell you more,” Catullo says. “We want to do this right. We are starting with six teams to set this in motion.”
Team owners do not need to be Ohio or Pennsylvania residents, Catullo says. He notes that the league plans to add expansion teams in the future.
There is no fee to play in the league. Players will not be paid in the inaugural season, but minimum salaries will eventually be implemented with contracts being offered to players by the team owners.
So far, 90 of the region’s top players – hailing from Cleveland to Pittsburgh and all points in between – have signed up for the draft.
Because each team will have seven players, only 42 will be drafted. The draft will take place Aug. 20.
Each team can name one “franchise” player in advance, who will then become that team’s guaranteed No. 1 pick.
Matches will take place on Monday evenings.
Very Competitive
Because of the wealth of great players within 75 miles of Youngstown, the competition level will be very high.
“At least 10 of the top Cleveland players have already signed up,” Catullo says.
Traveling to Youngstown every week will not be a problem for them. “The Cleveland players are used to traveling each week for tournaments,” Catullo says.
Each match will be webcast live over the Bocce Broadcast Network on YouTube, with play by play and color commentary announcers and replay capability. Each match will have referees and a scorekeeper.
Players will wear uniforms with their name on the back.
The Ohio Bocce League is being launched in conjunction with the Chicago Bocce League.
Both will start their inaugural season in September and will broadcast matches on the Bocce Broadcast Network.
Catullo is involved in the launch of both leagues.
“Chicago will be our sister league,” he says.
Catullo took over his family’s business, Catullo Prime Meats of Boardman, over 10 years ago and ran it until it closed in 2023.
He subsequently launched Perishable Shipping Solutions, selling the company in 2022, and is currently starting a new food industry company.
Chiovitti opened Lorenzino’s last year and immediately launched two leagues there. The facility is also available to rent for receptions, parties, meetings and other gatherings.
He started playing bocce when he was just 5 or 6 years old and is one of the region’s top players.
Lorenzino’s courts are state of the art and among the finest in the country. But Chiovitti never thought that his place would become the home of an executive-level league when he was constructing it.
“This just came along,” he says.
The Ohio Bocce League would not be possible if it wasn’t for Lorenzino’s, according to Catullo.
National Overview
Bocce has its roots in Italy and has long been popular in this area, as well as upstate New York, Michigan, Chicago and a few other areas.
The World Series of Bocce takes place every July in Rome, N.Y.
The game has exploded in growth in the past five or six years, Catullo says, which makes it a perfect time to launch a high-level regional league.
It is growing exponentially in the Youngstown area. “There has been an influx of younger players in our area in the last six years,” Catullo says. “It has exploded.”
The game is enjoyed by players ranging from their teens to senior citizens, and both men and women.
There is no minimum or maximum age for players in the Ohio Bocce League, and women are also eligible to sign up for the draft.
“I’m hoping some of our superstar women get drafted,” Catullo says. “Several have signed up for the draft.”
The game lends itself to spectators, and they will be allowed to watch the matches at Lorenzino’s.
“It is such a great game of strategy and skill,” Catullo says.
He notes that matches webcast from Youngstown on the Bocce Broadcast Network routinely get the highest viewership.
Because many people are not familiar with the game, the announcers will continuously educate them by explaining the rules and the strategies that the players are using.
“We need to grow to 100,000 viewers, not just the 10,000 from our region,” Catullo explains. “We will explain the rules and the why, and slow down the game for the viewers so they can understand it. That’s how you grow a sport.”
Pictured at top: Dante Chiovitti, owner of Lorenzino’s, and Danny Catullo, commissioner of the Ohio Bocce League.