IMG Adds Two New Hosts for AVP Tour

IMG and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) have inked a deal to add two IMG produced events, pills the prestigious Manhattan Beach Open and the Atlantic City Beach Volleyball Tournament, generic as additional stops which brings the 2013 AVP season to seven events and $1M in prize money.

IMG has a long history of producing high profile and high quality events and the AVP Tour has long been known as the crown jewel of beach volleyball tournaments. This alliance is testimony to the commitment of both companies to produce the world’s best professional beach volleyball events and to increase the popularity of this ever-growing sport.

With this new contract, AVP adds two exciting new locations with the well- established and well-storied Manhattan Beach Open, and the debut of the Atlantic City Beach Volleyball Tournament, which will be a premium northeast event. Earlier this year, several of the world’s top beach volleyball pros signed exclusive deals with the AVP including Olympians Kerri Walsh Jennings, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, April Ross, Jen Kessy, Jake Gibb, Sean Rosenthal and Nicole Branagh.

“We are pleased to announce the IMG-AVP deal for the Manhattan Beach Open and Atlantic City,” said James Leitz, SVP, IMG Worldwide and executive producer of IMG’s beach volleyball events. “We view this agreement as a positive step for the sport — that together with the AVP, we are pushing beach volleyball in the same direction. We can’t think of a better way to showcase the best beach volleyball players in the world than in Manhattan Beach – home of the longest running tournament in the sport, and in Atlantic City through our new partnership with the Atlantic City Alliance.”

“We are excited to announce an alliance with IMG that adds two stops to our tour and showcases the best of the beach on both coasts,” said Donald Sun, AVP owner. “We are equally as excited for what this partnership can mean for the fans, the athletes and the sponsors.”