BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE AVP AND BVA !!!

Many of you have been wondering about the state of beach volleyball. There have been all kinds of rumors over the last few years about the AVP - "was it going to fold?", "who is going to run it?", "will it ever make it back to the glory days?", "why aren't they on TV as much?", "who will be the sponsors", etc. And what about the Beach Volleyball America Tour, which only ran a women's tour last year, but this year scheduled a men's tour to compete with the AVP? This introduced the question of "which players will stick with the AVP, and which will defect over to the BVA?"

Even the players didn't know what to expect in 2001. Sure the AVP had scheduled a tour, but with the huge financial losses in 2000, and the lack of sponsors, some questioned whether it would happen. The BVA was intriguing, but not many players want to play with their ball, rules, or court.

Well, after the AVP meeting in Hermosa Beach, CA last Thursday (4/5), the players still don't know what to expect, however the future is a little bit clearer.

As of 4/5/01, the company that owns the AVP, Spencer Trask and Assoc. (based in NYC), signed a letter of intent which states that they will sell 50% of the AVP to a company called Digital Media (based in LA, CA) . Digital Media has many well-known investors such as Quincy Jones and Shaquille O'Neil, however the primary owner is Leonard Armato. Besides being Shaq's agent, Mr. Armato also ran the AVP for a short period of time in the early 90's, owns the rights to the WPVA, is Sinjin Smith's agent, and is engaged to Holly Mcpeak. Needless to say, he has spent a great deal of time around volleyball and definitely has a passion for the sport ... not to mention he is a very successful man with very successful investors.

Now comes the twist ... Digital Media has apparently also bought an equity stake in the Beach Volleyball America Tour, or the BVA. It was eluded to that Mr. Armato's plan is to make one unified tour for both men and women. The logistics are very sketchy at best. Some suggest that since Mr. Armato is very tight with Sinjin (who is on the FIVB board), he will lean towards the BVA tour's rules, which many players don't like. It was my impression that the ball they would use would be determined in most part by the dollar amount Mikasa and Wilson would offer. In regards to event sites, no information was given.

Now, here's another twist that was suggested by some of the players. Since all that was signed was a letter of intent (which gives Digital Media 30 days to sign the contract and make the 50% purchase final), it is very possible that this "merger" is really a stall tactic. With this potential "merger", the AVP tour is put in a state of limbo. Should the AVP move forward with their schedule as is? Should they continue to pursue sponsors? And in regards to the players, it makes many of them wait, possibly 30 days, before deciding to play AVP or BVA - even though the BVA tour starts in a few weeks. They also don't know what ball, court, and rules to practice with. Bottom line (in my opinion) ... if Digital Media doesn't sign the contract, the AVP could be done. There is no reason why Spencer Trask would want to continue losing money (due in most part to a lack of sponsors).

Although many players walked away from last Thursday's meeting with a negative attitude, my own opinion is much more positive. Spencer Trask became involved with the AVP in hopes of making money ... and if they make money, so will the players. With all the losses in 2000, we (the fans and players) are lucky Spencer Trask didn't just drop the tour all together. Instead, they sold 50% of the AVP hoping that merging the two tours will bring in more sponsorship dollars, reduce operating costs, and increase overall revenues (like it or not, money will determine if there is a beach volleyball tour). Combining the efforts of Digital Media, Spencer Trask, and the BVA should definitely improve the state of beach volleyball, allow the players to make good money, and hopefully allow the sport to grow exponentially in the future.

If you have any comments, please send them to besiggy@prodigy.net.

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