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AVP's canceled tour has pro players worried
(Olympic Proportions)
Despite the best efforts of the Association of Volleyball Professionals executives, the AVP beach volleyball tour has pulled the plug on its season.
During a conference call Friday afternoon between the AVP and its board of directors, the top professional tour in the United States reported its cancellation of the rest of its season, as stated in its press release.
Ever since alerting its players on July 21 about its financial troubles, the CEO Jason Hodell and his staff have been struggling to secure funding from investors and sponsors.
Behind the scenes, the AVP was recently negotiating deals with its primary investor, RJSM Partners, and others to secure at least a few million dollars to sustain the tour through its remaining five events. Repeated calls to the investment house have not been returned.
In this down economy, the AVP has also sought revenue from sponsors - many of whom cannot justify investing in a sport where the payback is minimal.
So, in the heart of its summer season, this pro sport has reluctantly been forced to make this untimely decision, leaving hundreds of pro players to reconsider their futures and livelihoods.
“On behalf of AVP staff we want to express our sincere gratitude to fans, players, partners and sponsors. Words cannot express our profound disappointment," said Hodell.
Keep checking back for more details and commentary this weekend.
Comments
Thats a shame. I am a fan of The AVP Women's Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. I hope The AVP will be back next year especialy The Women's Tour. Dose anybody think That The AVP will be back next year? I hope they will be. I wonder what the players/stars will do now? Good luck to them on there futures. It's a shame that the ecomony is so down to where even The AVP Tour had to fold there season. Well good luck to all The AVP players/stars and I hope there back again next year.
So long and thanks for the memories AVP; you were so much fun to watch. Hope the resurrection starts soon.
It never made sense to me that a sports with gorgeous bodies in bathing suits couldn't make a profit. Sponsors should have flocked to this sport. Remember the frenzy the men and women caused in Beijing. Even Pres. Bush made a visit to see Misty May Treanor. Perhaps it's just that fans don't want to spend a lot of money to sit on the sand that they think should be free. S
They should go back to the old school style and let the fans sit right up on the lines.
How cool would that be? To watch a final with Dalhausser literally playing 5 feet away from you...awesome!
I also think they should relax the rules on receiving a serve with your fingers (ie: they SHOULD allow players to "set the serve") and they need to chill out about rotation on a set ball. Just let the players play and the game will figure itself out.
Watching tall guys like Phil D. win so often was just plain boring for me.
Thanks for all your comments. It is very disappointing to see the AVP cancel the rest of its season, for sure. The economy plus the new management team were the major factors in this financial setback. Look for the AVP to return - no later than the London 2012 season.
It's KARMA!!
AVP's downfalls points directly to the "NEW MANAGEMENT!!!"
Hi Tom Burke I like your comment about, "in this down economy, the AVP has also sought revenue from sponsors-many of whom cannot justify investing in a sport where the payback is minimal". The reason the payback is minimal because the B.O.D. of the AVP has never included the sponsor's as part of the family. Take a look how much it takes to put together a site, such as Hermosa Bch AVP. My guess is about $300,000.00. Now let's take alook at how much is spend on the ref's. Again we come up with $300,000.00. Now Tom that's a total of $600,000.00 without even a single match being played. Ask the B.O.D. of the AVP if they have ever missed a payday? The answer, I am sure is no. Tom, I sent a email to Bud Light & Nievna asking if they had ever been invited to the VIP area & the answer was no. What more do I have to say. The B.O.D.'s of the AVP will never open their books public or non-discloser because they are a mess. Enough said.
"The economy has been tanking for years now. Any savvy CEO/CFO should be able to adapt to a changing market and make the tough decisions. Its embarrassing that the CBVA had to come in and do what the "Professionals" couldn't do. They gave you the blueprint on how to run a successful tournament. And they barely had enough time to throw it together. Lesson 1: Downsize. (smaller productions, less overhead, smaller corporate office salaries)
Volleyball will survive without CEOs, the Manhattan Open proved that. Focusing on the players and fans might be a stronger longterm business model."
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