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.

Read the full article from the Toledo Blade here, or check out 13 ABC’s coverage of the 2025 announcement here.

Header photo credit: Scott Grau.