All CBL franchise teams will be independently owned and managed. With the support of CBL and any partner entities, these franchises will operate as their own brands and organizations, just as in any other professional sports league. All 8 founding franchises will also work in collaboration with CBL leadership to lay the foundation for what will eventually evolve into a professional bocce league in North America.

We are laying a foundation capable of supporting a skyscraper. In 2025 we are just assembling the first couple floors of that skyscraper.

As such, CBL will be highly structured and organized. All league matches at the beautiful new Chicago Bocce Club will be fully broadcasted, in their own dedicated time slots, via a 6 camera BBN broadcast. Teams will be assembled via a draft process, as in any other professional sport. Teams will evolve throughout the season and beyond. Trades will be made. Deals will be signed. Championship franchises will be forged. High profile eyeballs will be grabbed. They’re already watching… Trust us.

Beyond the players and franchise owners, the CBL as an organization will be comprised of a fairly large team of people, each acting in their respective role. At the head of the CBL leadership are its cofounders, American Bocce Company’s Alex Gara and Bocce Broadcast Networks’s Michael Scialdone Sharkey.

Get this… CBL will be 3 person no-walk. Sound confusing? It’s not. Each 6 person CBL roster will have 3 starters. Each team will have two players on one side of the court and one on the other. This dynamic format means that each match essentially consists of a doubles match on one end and a singles match on the other. We have tried this format in a tournament and received resounding positive feedback. It makes for some very interesting player management decisions and matchup storylines.

Beyon the new-age format, the rest is pretty standard for most of us. The courts at Chicago Bocce Club are 72 foot beautiful synthetic Colleoni courts. Back wall will be dead. The raffa line will be adjusted to an appropriate position and will be enforced for your viewing pleasure.

With 8 teams, the regular season will run 7 weeks, followed by one week of playoffs, which all teams will qualify for. Every team will play every week of competition. If a starting player has to miss a week, managers can draw from the rest of their roster for subs.

Every team will play each other once in the regular season. Each weekly matchup will be a best of 3 series between one team and another. With 8 teams, we will have 4 individual time slots, which will allow us to have a dedicated full broadcast for each match.

Time slots: Thurs 7PM, Fri 7PM, Sat 11AM & 2PM

Declare yourself for the draft! Visit the Player Info Page for more info.

Claim one of the 8 founding franchise teams. Visit the Franchise Info Page for more info.

CBL will be looking for enterprising bocce folk (and perhaps even non-bocce folk) to be involved in all aspects of operations. If you have a certain set of skills that you believe could be of benefit to the CBL and are so inclined to be a part of this movement for the future of bocce, let us know! We can be reached at ChicagoBocceLeague@gmail.com or if you have Alex’s or Mike’s contact info, feel free to reach out directly.

We need you!

Franchise Contract Info Available - 6/2
Franchises Available to Claim - 6/16 at noon ET
Franchise Foundation Player Signing Deadline - 7/31 at 11:59PM ET
Player Draft Eligibility Deadline - 8/4 at noon ET
Draft - 8/9 at 3PM ET
Media Days - 9/12-14

Regular Season 9/18-11/15 TH 7PM, FR 7PM, SAT 11AM & 2PM
(off weeks: Mario Massa 9/25-27, Aldo Della Croce 11/6-8)
(Halloween week play will be Wed, Thu, Sun)

Playoff Week 11/19-23
Wed 11/19: 1st Rd Best of 3 (2 matches)
Thurs 11/20: Quarters Best of 5 (1 match)
Fri 11/21: Quarters Best of 5 (1 match)
Sat 11/22: Semis Best of 5 (2 matches)
Sun 11/23: Finals Best of 7 (1 match)