After more than a decade of bocce games played in bars, parks, and vacant lots, Chicago's bocce faithful finally have a permanent address. The Chicago Bocce Club opened its doors at 410 W. Paulina Ave. in West Town, offering five professional-grade indoor and outdoor courts along with a coworking and events space, a private backyard, and a full slate of non-bocce programming.
Mayor Brandon Johnson and 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. showed up for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to the West Central Association, giving the opening a dose of municipal fanfare. As Axios reports, the club is billed as the city's first dedicated bocce clubhouse, a milestone for a sport that Chicagoans have mostly played informally for years.
From a Vacant Lot to a Clubhouse
The roots of the new clubhouse trace back to Alex Gara, who started hosting bocce leagues and pop-up games around Chicago more than a decade ago, per Axios. In 2013, Gara started the Wicker Park Bocce Club, which leased a vacant city lot in Wicker Park for $1 and built two bocce courts there, the outlet notes. Gara has since played in national bocce tournaments and told Axios that he and his fellow founders knew nothing about bocce when they began.
That early experiment grew into American Bocce Co., officially founded in early 2015 by Gara, Alicia Harvey, and Matt David, according to American Bocce Co. The organization's competitive credentials followed quickly: representatives of American Bocce Co. and the Chicago Bocce Club earned medals across every category at the U.S. Bocce Federation Nationals, securing the highest regional medal count at the tournament.
A Social Hub Beyond the Courts
The new clubhouse is designed to be more than a place to roll a ball. Alongside its five courts, it hosts a weekly rotation of community programming that includes Monday Mahjong, Wine Down Wednesday, euchre nights, yoga, and mobility classes, according to the West Central Association. Axios separately confirms the club offers euchre night and Wine Wednesdays, along with other games. Membership options range from $50 a month to $1,320 a year, per Axios.
Gara is also part of the Chicago Bocce League, founded by Michael Scialdone, which organizes weekly bar leagues stretching from Highwood to Beverly and consists of six teams, Axios reports. The league even has a sister league in Ohio. That kind of grassroots infrastructure, built one bar and one park at a time, is what Axios says finally grew enough to support a dedicated space for the sport and its players.
An Immigrant Sport With Suburban Roots
Bocce's Chicago story predates any of this. Italian immigrants brought the game to the city's neighborhoods and suburbs in the early 20th century, and it has maintained a fervent following in predominantly Italian communities ever since, including in Elmwood Park, according to Axios. That legacy is documented in the short film “How We Roll,” about bocce in Elmwood Park, which is streaming now.
Suburban Chicagoland has long been the sport's stronghold. The Highwood Bocce Club, established in 1969, has hosted four U.S. Bocce Federation National Championships along with the only Bocce World Cup and Women's Pan American Bocce Championships held in the United States, according to Fra Noi. In 2021, Elmwood Park opened a community and recreation center at 4 Conti Parkway with four indoor bocce courts, supporting a suburban league network of more than 150 teams, per the Village of Elmwood Park.
Public Courts and Regulation Standards
Chicago proper hasn't been without public bocce access. The Chicago Park District maintains outdoor courts at facilities including Hiawatha Park on the Northwest Side and McGuane Park in Bridgeport, according to the Chicago Park District. Those courts differ from official tournament specifications; the United States Bocce Federation sets regulation court dimensions at 86.92 feet by 13.12 feet, though urban social leagues frequently adapt courts to fit smaller venues, per USA Shade.
The West Town site has hosted bocce before its transformation into a permanent clubhouse. As Hoodline previously reported, American Bocce Co. hosted a “Battle at The Bridge” coffee and bocce tournament at 410 N. Paulina St. in September 2018, raising funds for Special Olympics Illinois. That partnership has continued for years, with American Bocce Co. regularly providing volunteer court supervisors, equipment, and tournament support for Special Olympics Illinois and national Special Olympics programs since 2015, according to Special Olympics Illinois.
The clubhouse will also host public events going forward, according to Axios, opening the courts to more than just members. For a sport that spent more than a decade being played in bars and parks across the city, the new West Town address gives Chicago's bocce community something it never had: a home court of its own.
