VIRGINIA — About a year ago, World Curling officials reached out to USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell for a site to host one of its international competitions.

Phill Drobnick knew just the place.

“I said, ‘I think the Iron Range is the perfect spot,’” Drobnick, the national team director for USA Curling, recalled.

Curling officials, local leaders and enthusiasts of the sport gathered Tuesday at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center to reveal the logo for the 2025 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Virginia and Eveleth. U.S. Steel was named its title sponsor.

The Iron Range last hosted an international competition in 2007 with the World Junior Curling Championships at Curl Mesabi in Eveleth. Then came Curling Night in America in 2015, broadcasted globally on NBC.

Northeastern Minnesota has been in the regular rotation for USA Curling. Eveleth hosted a mixed doubles Olympic qualifier event last November. Duluth hosted the National Championships earlier this year.

Now, in October, 40 teams from 25 countries will descend on the region.

“We are all across the country with our national events and it’s very special when we’re here,” said Craig Perry, chief operating officer for USA Curling. “So happy to bring this world championship here to the Iron Range.”

In many ways, the Range is fit for curling’s world stage.

Drobnick, an Eveleth native, ascended from the Curl Mesabi club to his current role, coaching the United States to its first Olympic curling gold medal in 2018. That team was skipped by Chisholm’s own John Shuster.

Curling’s roots also coincide with those of the Iron Range, where European immigrants came to the region more than a century ago and settled into mining jobs. Many worked at what would later become U.S. Steel and brought the game with them.

Reflected in the event logo are the Range’s deep mining history and rich tourism economy. A moose treading through water is on the forefront, and an iron ore tailings basin expands the background.

“Excited, I think, is the word for us today,” said Chrissy Bartovich, a senior director at U.S. Steel, who is based in Mountain Iron. “U.S. Steel has a long history here on the Range, and many of our employees are curlers, and families are curlers, so there’s a lot of interest.”

Cal Warwas, a state representative for the region, rates among those employees.

He started curling in his 40s when a coworker introduced him to the game. He was tiring of Minnesota winters at the time, but his young kids didn’t share his sentiment for the snow and cold.

“I’ve been curling with my family for about the last seven or eight years,” he said. “It has transformed the way I feel about winter because it’s a great sport.”

Hockey might still hold the belt for the Iron Range’s signature sport. The jerseys and photos of its hockey heroes hang inside the Iron Trail Motors Event Center, stretching from John Harrington of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team to Stanley Cup champion Matt Niskanen.

But curling is close behind, said Virginia Mayor Larry Cuffe Jr.

He grew up watching his father curl at a club in the city, which at the time wasn’t much more than a oversized garage. It was more than the open lakes that early settlers used for curling sheets, but a far cry from Curl Mesabi club of today.

The sport routinely experienced a bump in interest around the Olympics, but took off nationally and locally after Team Shuster stood atop the podium in 2018.

It’s a relaxed game from a recreational standpoint, a family sport appealing to kids, seniors and everything in between. It’s top performers are as accessible as the heads of the local clubs.

“I can tell you there isn’t a more social or welcoming sport than curling,” Perry said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a greater community as excited as we have seen today … It’s simply awesome.”

The 2025 Pan Continental Curling Championships will be held Oct. 19-26 at Curl Mesabi in Eveleth and the Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia.

Curlers from the U.S. Canada, Japan, Mexico, India, Kenya, China, Korea, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and more will compete for a spot in the World Curling Championships next spring.

Last year, Team Shuster took home bronze in the competition. Team Dropkin, skipped by Duluth’s Korey Dropkin, won bronze and finished fourth in 2023 and 2022, respectively. On the women’s side, Team Thiesse finished fifth last year, while Team Peterson won bronze in 2023 and took fourth in 2022.

Tickets and merchandise are expected to go on sale Aug. 4 through the USA Curling website. Community volunteer opportunities will also open in August.