|
|
Post by Phillytom on Oct 1, 2015 10:00:09 GMT -5
Is anybody on this board a billionaire? Anybody know a billionaire?
Wouldn't it be nice if one of these billionaires trying to buy the White House would use a few pennies and start a volleyball league in the U.S.??
I mean, you could have a whole league for the cost of a half dozen major league baseball salaries.
What got me thinking was Megan Courtney's remarks on the BTN special last night -- she would love to keep playing after graduation, and would have opportunities in Europe, but she doesn't really want to go to Europe. She likes it here, wants to stay close to home. Almost got the sense she was prepared to give up playing and move on. Which is really sad.
And I was thinking, wow, I would buy tickets and drive hours to see a women's VB league that had players like Megan Courtney.
So waddaya say Volleytalk? Let's do this. I'm about to semi-retire. I will have some free time available. What can I do to make this happen? I'm calling all my billionaire friends to talk up the idea.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigfanofbigfan on Oct 1, 2015 10:27:37 GMT -5
There was a talk of starting a men volleyball pro league here in the US last year, but I think the idea was ditched this year because there's no money in it.
|
|
|
|
Post by ballervolley on Oct 1, 2015 10:38:31 GMT -5
we do have a league. the trade off for pay is a free education and that's as good as it's ever gonna get in the US.
|
|
|
|
Post by BuckysHeat on Oct 1, 2015 10:46:40 GMT -5
www.usapvl.com/About as close as we are currently to having one. I have no idea what type of pay is involved, doubtful it is enough to sustain an athlete though without other work
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 10:47:32 GMT -5
Great way to see the world, however, Megan.
And the answer is football. When we like something, we want more of it, not something else. It's the American way.
|
|
|
|
Post by charlesd on Oct 1, 2015 11:13:50 GMT -5
I would love this to happen. I know of a couple of US volleyball players who tried to play overseas but after one year found the negative of living arrangements, minimal salaries, and distance from family and friends outweighed their desire to continue playing. They came home and got jobs.
My admittedly limited understanding about many of the European leagues is that the teams are basically sponsorship vehicles for local or national businesses, with a fair amount of government support as well. Some of the teams are known foremost by the corporate or government sponsor's name. Television exposure is minimal in most places, and although volleyball’s presence on the web is increasing I am not convinced that this exposure has been well monetized yet. From the games I have followed I doubt that the teams could rely solely on gate receipts to survive.
I remember seeing a story from a few years ago that the German Bundesliga team DSC had a budget of 1.3 million Euros, or about 1.5 million USD, of which I imagine a third or more would be allocated to player salaries. With limited attendance of a few thousand per game at best for 15 to 20 home games, I have wondered how the corporate sponsors justify expenditures at this level, although in addition to the main sponsors each team seems to have many secondary sponsors and commercial interests with which there are undoubtedly a few contra arrangements. For example, the local video company might agree to do a team photo shoot for free in exchange for a prominent mention in team publicity materials. I suppose the local governments can justify their use of tax dollars to promote their city to some extent.
I am not sure what my point is other than to wonder if this might be a different model than what would work in the US if the traditional “there has to be money in it” approach were to be adopted. If making money is to be the sole driving force, I don’t see where the dollars would come from.
|
|
|
|
Post by ugopher on Oct 1, 2015 11:28:51 GMT -5
As long as the WNBA is in existence it will be difficult to get a pro indoor volleyball league. Pro leagues are driven by TV. And, since the network execs understand basketball, the WNBA will get the coverage, limited that it may be.
When there was a pro league a few years ago, we had the MN Chill located in Rochester, MN. We did follow that team as there were Minnesotan's on the team (Branagh, Bachmann/McCutcheon, and Berg come to mind) and because it was close enough to get to.
One of the disappointing things about college volleyball is that you know you can only see your favorite players play for 4 years. Won't be able to watch them after college. As a Gopher fan, I would love the opportunity to continue to see Dixon, Gibbemeyer, etc. play more. Heck, I would enjoy watching Megan Hodge/Easy, Jordan Larson, and others play outside of a couple of weeks every four years.
|
|
Kamali'i-7
Sophomore
I'm not ethnocentric.
Posts: 200 
|
Post by Kamali'i-7 on Oct 1, 2015 11:31:23 GMT -5
outside of the AVCA, the collegiate game can't even manage a Media Poll.
It's always been a hit-or-miss, beginning with the IVA (way back); it likely will always be so. |
|
|
|
Post by redbeard2008 on Oct 1, 2015 11:44:38 GMT -5
There was a previous thread on this. I'm not sure that much new can be said here that wasn't already said there.
|
|
|
|
Post by greenpier on Oct 1, 2015 11:49:20 GMT -5
As long as the WNBA is in existence it will be difficult to get a pro indoor volleyball league. The NBA subsidizes the WNBA, if the NBA ever yanked their money the WNBA would fold right away. |
|
|
|
Post by onfiya on Oct 1, 2015 12:19:17 GMT -5
I really think it could work. One, because you have an outstanding pool of talented players, who after 4 years of college ball, many would like to continue playing in the states. Many would have to get a second job, some may have parental support while they give it a shot. Sponsors could account for a sizeable portion of team budgets. I know teams would get huge fan support in places like Lincoln, Kansas City, Louisville, etc. and I think Texas might be able to support 3 or 4 teams in Dallas, Houston, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley. Marketing with the beauty and beast model. Let's face it, the appeal of beautiful young ladies is a BIG draw, and the fact that they can do some other-worldly things athletically is amazing! The US sports market is in huge need of female sports celebrities. This league could produce some rock stars with huge earning potential if properly marketed...
|
|
|
|
Post by BuckysHeat on Oct 1, 2015 12:21:35 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by vbnerd on Oct 1, 2015 12:36:29 GMT -5
I asked a player in Turkey how her team makes enough money to pay her salary let alone the entire team's. She said simply "I don't know, I don't think they do" so where does the money come from and she said basically, how businessmen in the US play golf, a few bankers and companies over there own women's volleyball teams and compete that way. It sounds like they are pre-set business meetings / sponsorship vehicles / entertainment for networking meetings.
Basically, think if Buffet, Gates, Turner, Immelt, Brin, Bezoes, etc all dropped a million a year on a women's volleyball team and they traveled with their teams to hang out with each other and talk business, and see what deals come out of it. Or at least that is how she described it. Of course why not drop it on a soccer team, or a field hockey team, or roller derby, or just go to an actual business meeting without the girls in spandex?
|
|
|
|
Post by charlesd on Oct 1, 2015 12:49:20 GMT -5
Despite the many incredible male athletes who play volleyball at a high level, it seems fair to suggest that the sport is still seen primarily as a female endeavour. That said, maybe we should look to rich female business owners to step up. Oh wait. Never mind. There aren’t any, or at least not many. And owning sports teams to gain bragging rights over one’s contemporaries and competitors in lieu of killing them on the battlefield or in the boardroom or to compensate for something else may not be the way women prefer to run their businesses. But I don’t really know.  |
|
|
|
Post by vbnerd on Oct 1, 2015 12:51:51 GMT -5
I really think it could work. One, because you have an outstanding pool of talented players, who after 4 years of college ball, many would like to continue playing in the states. Many would have to get a second job, some may have parental support while they give it a shot. Sponsors could account for a sizeable portion of team budgets. I know teams would get huge fan support in places like Lincoln, Kansas City, Louisville, etc. and I think Texas might be able to support 3 or 4 teams in Dallas, Houston, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley. Marketing with the beauty and beast model. Let's face it, the appeal of beautiful young ladies is a BIG draw, and the fact that they can do some other-worldly things athletically is amazing! The US sports market is in huge need of female sports celebrities. This league could produce some rock stars with huge earning potential if properly marketed... In Texas, you have NFL football, college football, high school football, then the NBA teams, MLB, Hockey, soccer, youth soccer, beauty pagents, people watching on 6th street, and then maybe some volleyball. If sex appeal were a draw, you'd see more fans at college volleyball. 15,000 at a high school football match, 2700 for Nebraska at Texas in Volleyball. That said, a semi-pro league with teams in Houston, SA, Austin, Waco, Dallas, FW, etc might be the start to something, the same way the USPVL put a pod of teams in the midwest that had low and consistent travel costs. Another in Pitt, Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville, Detroit area, and a third pod in Indy, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rochester with limited cross over between pods, might allow things to build. Debates on facebook about whether San Antonio or Pittsburgh would win, and an interest in the Pittsburgh fans watching the match in San Antonio on television (more likely online) is how things start. But a national league with national travel is a non-starter. A national TV deal is a non-starter. There just isn't the demand for it right now. |
|
