For the first time in 17 years, top U.S. beach volleyball players will compete on the Strip when the AVP League comes to Las Vegas this weekend.
Men’s and women’s teams representing eight cities will play Friday and Saturday at a temporary venue outside Resorts World.
The stop marks the AVP’s return to Las Vegas after a two-decade absence and comes as the league looks to capitalize on growing interest in the sport following the 2024 Paris Olympics.
AVP Commissioner Bobby Corvino said the organization’s strategy is to stage events at recognizable venues around the country, making the Strip a natural fit.
“We’re really focused on bringing this incredible product to iconic venues around the country,” Corvino told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “What’s more iconic than next to the Las Vegas Strip?”
AVP mainstay and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser, who competed in Las Vegas events in 2006 and 2009, will again compete in Las Vegas two decades later. Dalhausser said he doesn’t remember much from that event nearly 20 years ago, outside of the heat.
Dalhausser, one of the most decorated players in AVP history, with 62 tour wins, thinks there’s room for a niche sport such as beach volleyball in the Las Vegas sports realm.
“I think we have a place here,” Dalhausser said. “We’re not that far from L.A., where it’s kind of the hub of beach volleyball. I think we’ll see a lot of L.A. fans here just sneaking out for the weekend to Vegas, a little volleyball and a little Vegas action, right?”
The AVP has eight city-based teams, each including a men’s and women’s duo, who play only against their own gender. Teams accumulate points based on event performance as they vie to be atop the event standings, with the season culminating in a championship match, which takes place this year in Chicago during Labor Day weekend.
“This is different than traditional beach volleyball and how it’s been played in the past with kind of a traveling circus of events and different open tournaments,” Corvino said. “This is creating a product that I think resonates with fans better and tradition, not just beach volleyball and volleyball fans, but sports fans in general, where they can follow their teams week after week and see how they’re performing in the overall standings.”
Dalhausser and teammate Trevor Crabb won the League Cup and AVP Championship last season.
The AVP event is being held in the same area where the Enhanced Games, an Olympic-style event, was hosted at the resort in May.
“We truck in over 300 tons of sand,” Corvino said. “We’re going to be in the lot right next to the hotel under the pool area there. So, we build a big sand court, and we bring in some grandstands around there, some high-end hospitality.”
Resorts World has welcomed one-off sporting events and has utilized the versatile space outside of the resort to host an array of events, such as the AVP Tour.
“As Las Vegas continues to evolve as a global hub for sports and entertainment, we’re proud to be part of that momentum by offering the scale and flexibility to support a variety of programming,” Wagner said.
Being an outdoor event in Las Vegas during the summer, heat is a concern for Corvino. The expected highs on Friday and Saturday are 104 and 101 degrees, respectively. The event runs each night between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., and organizers are hoping the late start helps stave off the highest temperatures Friday and Saturday. Tickets start at $35 and are available on the AVP’s website.
“We’re a little concerned about the heat, obviously, but I think these athletes are used to playing in hot temperatures,” Corvino said. “We’ll make sure that we have all the precautionary measures in place. We’re thinking about bringing in some (cooling) fans, and there’s going to be plenty of shade, not just for the athletes, but for the spectators as well.”
Dalhausser said he doesn’t mind the heat much, as he lives in Florida where they have a different kind of heat with the humidity. But with him being used to higher temperatures, he believes that he has an advantage over the competition.
“I lived in L.A. for 15 years or so, and you kind of get spoiled,” Dalhausser said. “The weather there is so great. So then when you come into a place where it’s super hot or super cold or whatever, you’re just not used to that. So, I would have a little bit of an advantage against all the L.A. guys.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
