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Post by ironhammer on Feb 1, 2023 21:45:25 GMT -5
Any updates on the finances for the league? Is there really money available for the league to last more than one season? I think we'll know more once the other teams and their owners are announced. In DeVos' case, he has the ability to absorb some loss for a few years as long as he sees there's potential (he floated his Arena League team for a decade). Media deals and ad revenue will be key. I'm still skeptical of their revenue model...given the history of failed pro volleyball leagues in the US. |
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Post by genisvel on Feb 1, 2023 22:13:55 GMT -5
I'm still skeptical of their revenue model...given the history of failed pro volleyball leagues in the US. You have every right to be. The brain trust behind this league has a lot of ties to the original Arena Football League which could be a subject of a whole season of ESPN's 30 for 30. I get the logic of giving Grand Rapids the spotlight of being the first team for a while before announcing other, more known, markets so it's not buried promotionally. But, announcing players before teams and/or coaches seems like putting the cart before the horse. I suspect none of the 4 named players are coming here to Michigan. And then, there's waiting 2 months before announcing the next team. Then, if they really are announcing the rest of the teams individually in one month, that means they are doing more than one a week. I question the logic of a lot of it. But, while I disagree with a lot of his family's politics, I have a ton of faith in Dan's character as a team owner and faithful citizen of this city. That, alone, gives me some hope for this league. That said, the AFL proved that Dan and a few celebrity owners (John Elway, Jon Bon Jovi, Ron Jawarski, etc.) couldn't overcome other bad actors and save that league from it's downfall. |
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Post by babybacksets on Feb 2, 2023 1:22:52 GMT -5
Not exactly, could be a few gyms that teams rotated usage of but all still geared towards volleyball. Could also serve as a rental gym fit junior clubs and their tournaments. This is not a snap of the fingers and make it happen kind of thing. I think it’s possible to coordinate with local clubs and the volleyball community to make these arenas, something of substance that promotes volleyball specifically. Rather than the league/teams being at the mercy of stadiums that may or may not be great floor quality and just wanting to make some money off the league. Sure it’s not something that has been done before for volleyball only, but I don’t really see how you can claim a part of the sport is growing, when the investment isn’t really made into its promotion. Sure it’ll be a long time coming to expect Womens volleyball to get on the same level of men’s basketball but if at least it’s something being worked towards, however gradually, I don’t see the issue. I see. Yes, it would be great for one of the Pro League teams to have/own their own volleyball dedicated facility, which they could then rent out and run camps, etc. but it's definitely not necessary. That type of arena/facility might make some sense financially, but it's still an expensive proposition. A general use volleyball facility versus an actual arena that could seat maybe 5,000 represents a huge cost difference and really serves two completely different audiences/users. Yea I think it’s definitely doable at a general use facility scale. Should have been more descriptive of what I meant at the beginning. But I think there are definitely places all of the country with strong concentrations of club ball within the area that can attract fans and supplemental revenue at the same time. I think the look, dimensions, etc would be the biggest thing to carefully craft out, so you’re able to get exactly what you want in the feel of it being a quality sports venue for PvF games and fan experience while maintaining some aspect of it that draws in clubs that need the space. There’s a gym, Pearce Sports Center, in Southern California that the NVA has been using for its games that comes really close. I think a scaled up version modeling after that would be the way to go. Obviously in SoCal, Orange or San Diego County would be the go to destinations that could draw fans from the dense amount of club locally. Not sure what areas in other states would have a similar profile. |
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Post by volleyguy on Feb 2, 2023 3:08:24 GMT -5
I see. Yes, it would be great for one of the Pro League teams to have/own their own volleyball dedicated facility, which they could then rent out and run camps, etc. but it's definitely not necessary. That type of arena/facility might make some sense financially, but it's still an expensive proposition. A general use volleyball facility versus an actual arena that could seat maybe 5,000 represents a huge cost difference and really serves two completely different audiences/users. Yea I think it’s definitely doable at a general use facility scale. Should have been more descriptive of what I meant at the beginning. But I think there are definitely places all of the country with strong concentrations of club ball within the area that can attract fans and supplemental revenue at the same time. I think the look, dimensions, etc would be the biggest thing to carefully craft out, so you’re able to get exactly what you want in the feel of it being a quality sports venue for PvF games and fan experience while maintaining some aspect of it that draws in clubs that need the space. There’s a gym, Pearce Sports Center, in Southern California that the NVA has been using for its games that comes really close. I think a scaled up version modeling after that would be the way to go. Obviously in SoCal, Orange or San Diego County would be the go to destinations that could draw fans from the dense amount of club locally. Not sure what areas in other states would have a similar profile. The question with a facility like Pearce is seating. A legit pro match requires true arena seating with chair backs around a single court—otherwise it’s just a high school gym. The Pyramid at Long Beach solved this problem by having the seating sections be one single slab that can be lifted hydraulically to expose additional courts/floor space underneath (a total of 8 or 10 full courts I think). But that’s kind of a unique approach that doesn’t seem all that feasible in this case. The cost just seems prohibitive and impractical for an unproven league. |
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Post by babybacksets on Feb 2, 2023 4:14:41 GMT -5
Yea I think it’s definitely doable at a general use facility scale. Should have been more descriptive of what I meant at the beginning. But I think there are definitely places all of the country with strong concentrations of club ball within the area that can attract fans and supplemental revenue at the same time. I think the look, dimensions, etc would be the biggest thing to carefully craft out, so you’re able to get exactly what you want in the feel of it being a quality sports venue for PvF games and fan experience while maintaining some aspect of it that draws in clubs that need the space. There’s a gym, Pearce Sports Center, in Southern California that the NVA has been using for its games that comes really close. I think a scaled up version modeling after that would be the way to go. Obviously in SoCal, Orange or San Diego County would be the go to destinations that could draw fans from the dense amount of club locally. Not sure what areas in other states would have a similar profile. The question with a facility like Pearce is seating. A legit pro match requires true arena seating with chair backs around a single court—otherwise it’s just a high school gym. The Pyramid at Long Beach solved this problem by having the seating sections be one single slab that can be lifted hydraulically to expose additional courts/floor space underneath (a total of 8 or 10 full courts I think). But that’s kind of a unique approach that doesn’t seem all that feasible in this case. The cost just seems prohibitive and impractical for an unproven league. Agreed, the Pearce seating is designed for club parents watching practices. The ideal would be some blend of the two or having a portion dedicated to the “arena” and the other portion to whatever is needed for the club side. Definitely something to hope for in the future, don’t think NBA donors are going to want to foot the bill in 5-6 different parts of the country but you never know…lol |
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Post by jackson5vb on Feb 2, 2023 9:44:31 GMT -5
I see. Yes, it would be great for one of the Pro League teams to have/own their own volleyball dedicated facility, which they could then rent out and run camps, etc. but it's definitely not necessary. That type of arena/facility might make some sense financially, but it's still an expensive proposition. A general use volleyball facility versus an actual arena that could seat maybe 5,000 represents a huge cost difference and really serves two completely different audiences/users. Yea I think it’s definitely doable at a general use facility scale. Should have been more descriptive of what I meant at the beginning. But I think there are definitely places all of the country with strong concentrations of club ball within the area that can attract fans and supplemental revenue at the same time. I think the look, dimensions, etc would be the biggest thing to carefully craft out, so you’re able to get exactly what you want in the feel of it being a quality sports venue for PvF games and fan experience while maintaining some aspect of it that draws in clubs that need the space. There’s a gym, Pearce Sports Center, in Southern California that the NVA has been using for its games that comes really close. I think a scaled up version modeling after that would be the way to go. Obviously in SoCal, Orange or San Diego County would be the go to destinations that could draw fans from the dense amount of club locally. Not sure what areas in other states would have a similar profile. Is PVF putting a team in that Pearce Sports Center Area? I think if both leagues worked together, they could afford to do some really good marketing in that area, make a couple minor adjustments to the arena and get their logos slapped across the floors. Just a thought. |
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Post by babybacksets on Feb 2, 2023 10:54:26 GMT -5
Yea I think it’s definitely doable at a general use facility scale. Should have been more descriptive of what I meant at the beginning. But I think there are definitely places all of the country with strong concentrations of club ball within the area that can attract fans and supplemental revenue at the same time. I think the look, dimensions, etc would be the biggest thing to carefully craft out, so you’re able to get exactly what you want in the feel of it being a quality sports venue for PvF games and fan experience while maintaining some aspect of it that draws in clubs that need the space. There’s a gym, Pearce Sports Center, in Southern California that the NVA has been using for its games that comes really close. I think a scaled up version modeling after that would be the way to go. Obviously in SoCal, Orange or San Diego County would be the go to destinations that could draw fans from the dense amount of club locally. Not sure what areas in other states would have a similar profile. Is PVF putting a team in that Pearce Sports Center Area? I think if both leagues worked together, they could afford to do some really good marketing in that area, make a couple minor adjustments to the arena and get their logos slapped across the floors. Just a thought. I doubt it, only because the portion that uses the part of the center for NVA games only does so for a handful of weekends out of the summer. Otherwise it’s like a 4-5 team per she group 12-18 + boys, type of club so doubtful the space can handle much more than that and still effectively have their club practices, lessons, etc |
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Post by genisvel on Feb 3, 2023 18:27:08 GMT -5
Ok. So, we're through the first Friday in February and there's only 1 team announced. We'll keep them at their word to have at least 8 teams announced by the end of the month. That's 7 teams in 25 days, or, 3 and a half weeks. That's...
2 teams per week.
They said they would make the announcements in the cities and I haven't seen any tweets or posts from any beat writers. Do we have a bookie in the house who can give odds of this happening like they say?
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Post by avid 2.0 on Feb 3, 2023 18:28:42 GMT -5
Ok. So, we're through the first Friday in February and there's only 1 team announced. We'll keep them at their word to have at least 8 teams announced by the end of the month. That's 7 teams in 25 days, or, 3 and a half weeks. That's... 2 teams per week. They said they would make the announcements in the cities and I haven't seen any tweets or posts from any beat writers. Do we have a bookie in the house who can give odds of this happening like they say?  |
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Post by volleyguy on Feb 3, 2023 18:55:08 GMT -5
Nick Saban would have closed the deal by now.
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Post by genisvel on Feb 3, 2023 19:08:20 GMT -5
Instead of "I'm in." It should be "I'm in..."
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Post by genisvel on Feb 6, 2023 13:14:20 GMT -5
Here's another article from a sports writer that wants a team in their market. That's 2 now. I have to make the assumption that these aren't even rumored teams at this point, so we're down to two assumed teams: Columbus and Dallas/Fort Worth. Two markets with hopeful media in Omaha and Denver. And one verified team in Grand Rapids, MI. Not a good look to miss your first publicly stated goal. *drums fingers impatiently*
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Post by volleyguy on Feb 6, 2023 13:21:37 GMT -5
I'm familiar with one group's discussions with the PVF to start a team, and let's just say that the specifics provided by them about how the league was going to operated from an owner's perspective left a lot to be desired.
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Post by genisvel on Feb 6, 2023 13:30:56 GMT -5
I'm familiar with one group's discussions with the PVF to start a team, and let's just say that the specifics provided by them about how the league was going to operated from an owner's perspective left a lot to be desired. Can I ask the market? I know when the original AFL died in 2009 the ownership group that DeVos sided with and lost was pro-player. The league that returned a couple of years later was back to paying players $200 a game. A lot of owners won't be down with paying players what they're talking PLUS profit sharing. Even if it means they avoid a player's union. |
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Post by avid 2.0 on Feb 6, 2023 13:40:48 GMT -5
seems like a miss to include info about themselves... but not the tidbit that there's an Olympic gold medalist from the area (Poulter) and one in the adjacent area (Haleigh Washington)
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