Holiday Bowl in Struthers, Ohio, has served as the home center for the Youngstown State bowling program since its opening season in 2016-17.
Located just over five miles from YSU’s campus, Holiday Bowl is one of the premier centers in the Mahoning Valley. The USBC certified center features 36 lanes with an AMF Synthetic Lane surface, a pro shop, a food counter and bar, and plenty of room for fans attending tournaments. The center is locally-owned and family-operated by Tom and Rose Eframedes, who have served as the proprietors since the late 1980s.
Youngstown State has full access to the center during non-league times to practice on tournament patterns. The high lanes are equipped with Specto technology to help the Penguins train for national prominence. YSU also has a team space at the low end of the house to store equipment and gear, and a large banner commemorating the program’s 2025 National Championship hangs above lanes 17-19 in the center of the facility.
YSU annually hosts the Penguin Classic each fall, and the tournament has grown from eight teams at its inception in 2019 to 18 teams in 2025. The tournament was renamed the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic in 2025 in honor of the Penguins’ first head coach Chelsea Gilliam, who passed away from breast cancer in August 2025 at the age of 35.
Holiday Bowl hosts men’s, women’s, mixed and junior leagues, and it hosts the Super Bowl Blowout, a large tournament featuring area high school teams, each February. The center has also served as a regional stop on the PBA Tour, and Adam Barta set the Guinness World Record for most strikes in an hour there with 191 on Nov. 12, 2016.
Address
Holiday Bowl
777 Youngstown-Poland Rd, Struthers, OH 44471
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Parking
Spectators should park in the main lot or in the fenced lot across Wilson Street, which is located just south of the bowling center. Cars parked in the IGA lot may be towed.
