LOS ANGELES - January 26, 2006 - AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, a wholly
owned subsidiary of AVP, Inc. (OTC: AVPI.OB), a lifestyle sports
entertainment company focused on professional beach volleyball, today
officially announced its 2006 Tour season schedule, which includes two new
events, five new cities, and a record $3.5 million in prize money. The prize
money is split equally between the men and the women and represents a 17%
increase from last year's purse of $3.0 million.
This season, the AVP Tour will visit 16 cities, including five new additions
- Birmingham, Ala. Sacramento, Calif., Atlanta, Ga., Brooklyn, N.Y, and Lake
Tahoe, Nev.:
March 31-April 2 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
May 5-7 - Tempe, AZ
May 18-21 - Santa Barbara, CA
May 26-28 - Huntington Beach, CA
June 9-11 - Hermosa Beach, CA
June 15-18 - Sacramento, CA
June 29-July 2 - Seaside Heights, NJ
July 6-9 - Atlanta, GA
July 13-16 - Birmingham, AL
July 20-23 - Chicago, IL
August 10-13 - Manhattan Beach, CA
August 17-20 - Brooklyn (Coney Island), NY
August 25-27 - Boulder, CO
August 31-Sept 3 - Cincinnati, OH
September 6-9 - Las Vegas, NV
September 14-17 - Lake Tahoe, NV
All events will be televised with coverage on NBC and FOX Sports Net (FSN).
A detailed broadcast schedule will be released soon. Tickets will be
available soon.
The expanded 2006 schedule comes on the heels of a very successful 2005
season. The AVP Tour experienced healthy growth last season, including a 48%
increase in its fan base, according to Scarborough Sports Marketing, which
compares favorably to the growth in other sports properties for the same
time period.
In addition, AVP has developed several promoter relationships to help bring
tournaments to cities that might not otherwise host such events. Local
organizers are responsible for selling all local revenue for the tournament,
including tickets, concessions, sponsorships and hospitality. Event cities
with local promoters include: Sacramento (Sacramento Sports Commission),
Atlanta (Atlanta Sports Council), Birmingham-Hoover (Bruno Event Team),
Brooklyn (Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment) and Cincinnati (Reach Event
Marketing). AVP's strategic alliances with top local promotion companies
allows the AVP Tour to have a strong presence in new markets without the
standard upfront capital resources as well as gaining year-round, aggressive
marketing and outreach for each event.
"We are thrilled at the success and expansion of the AVP Tour and we are
looking forward to coming into these new markets and returning to several of
our 2005 Tour stops" said Leonard Armato, CEO and Tour Commissioner. "We are
pleased that, through successful promoter alliances, we are able to bring
the excitement of beach volleyball inland, expanding beach volleyball and
reaching a larger audience. With our fan base continually growing and a
record amount for prize money, this looks to be the best AVP season yet."
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