Pro Volleyball Federation to bring professional women's volleyball to Columbus in 2024
The Pro Volleyball Federation, the first professional volleyball league in the United States, plans to have a team in Columbus when the league officially begins play in February 2024.
Teams in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska and Atlanta were previously announced, and the league aims to add four-to-six more before the inaugural season.
The as-of-yet-unnamed team in Columbus will be owned and operated by the Jeff and Beth Gilger Family. Jeff Gilger is a partner and chief development officer of Express Wash Concepts, the parent company of Moo Moo Express Car Wash, while also being an investor and on the board of directors at North High Brewing.
The league was co-founded by Dave Whinham and Stephen Evans, with some very high-profile help. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is supplying some of the funds for the league. His parents, Jimmy and Robin Burrow, are founding partners along with former Super Bowl champion quarterback Trent Dilfer.
Beyond the support of a well-known Ohio athlete, Gilger has another reason to believe women’s volleyball will be embraced here.
“I’ve been to a lot of Columbus Blue Jackets games, and I just closed my eyes and I envisioned women’s professional volleyball being played in Nationwide (Arena) with the event and the entertainment component that they do for hockey,” Gilger told The Dispatch. “It just looked amazing in my eyes, something that could be really, really special.”
Whinham agrees that an excellent fan experience will be key to the club's success.
“If you bring a sport, or really any type of entertainment project to Columbus, Ohio, they will give you a chance,” he said. “And if you do a good job of entertaining them, they’ll stick with you forever.
With the amount of fandom behind the Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew and Ohio State athletics, Gilger said he’s excited to have a “high-caliber women's professional sports team” in the same category as the WNBA and National Women’s Soccer League for sports fans to rally around.
If anything, Gilger and Whinham agree, the presence of the Pro Volleyball Federation in Columbus will be a catalyst for higher levels of volleyball across all levels in the city while also introducing the sport to a new audience.
“What we think we can do is enhance it to create fans or people — men, women, boys and girls — becoming fans of women’s volleyball that haven’t even given volleyball a thought,” Whinham said. “We think we can convert the unconverted and bring it to the masses in ways that have not been done before.”
Where will Pro Volleyball Federation be played in Columbus?
The Columbus team and the league are indeed in talks with Nationwide Arena to host the Pro Volleyball Federation starting in February 2024. Whinham loves Nationwide Arena, but believes the Columbus market has other “great venues.”
“We’ll see how it works out,” he said.
How can Columbus sports fans watch Pro Volleyball Federation games?
Whinham would not announce any specific broadcasting partners for the Pro Volleyball Federation but said he expects to have three national broadcast partners for “games of the week,” along with a “mature” streaming partner and regional sports network component.
Talking with television networks and executives prior to the league's emergence, Evans said NCAA women’s volleyball has risen to the third-most watched college sport behind football and men’s basketball.
When will the Pro Volleyball Federation season be?
The league's first season is scheduled to start in February 2024 and last until May, prior to the start of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Who will play on Columbus’ Pro Volleyball Federation team?
Evans said that “America’s and world’s best” women’s volleyball players have already committed to playing in the league, explaining this marks an opportunity that has never been presented to North American volleyball players before.
“This is truly creating a new horizon for volleyball players in the United States to be able to play professionally and make a living wage, which is key, and not have to leave home to do it,” Evans said.
Whinham said base salaries for players will start at $60,000 per season, along with “world-class facilities, real sports arenas and expert coaching” available to players.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pro Volleyball Federation to bring professional volleyball to Columbus
