AVP has good first impression of Riverside Tour Open

After performing a series of slow-motion and fast-forwarded crowd waves, fans at Stadium Court were asked Sunday by the emcee of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals whether they wanted the inaugural Riverside Tour Open to return next year.

Fans offered an enthusiastic response. 

"Thank God for the AVP, and thank God for Riverside," the emcee concluded in one of his many hyperbolic phrases during the organization's second tour stop. 

Afterward, Jason Hodell, who took over as head of the professional beach volleyball tour after Leonard Armato recently stepped down, felt confident the AVP will return to downtown Riverside in 2010.    

"For a first-time event, you got to give it an 'A'," Hodell said. "If this is a market we've been into 10 years in a row, it'd be different. But if you look at the crowd, enthusiasm and support, you have to give it an 'A' for a first-time event."

"We're going to try and catapult on the momentum and get it done in the next few weeks," he added.

Official attendance and revenue numbers weren't available, but Hodell estimated that 1,500 fans poured into the newly constructed stadium, where capacity is 3,200. 

Among the player reactions:

"Everyone has reached out, from the hotel to the block parties, to the staff," said No. 1 seed Elaine Youngs, who won the Riverside Open with Nicole Branagh. "This venue has been one of the best ... the sand is really good. Players are picky about the quality of sand. For a first-time event, it's been pretty special, especially since we won."

"I was pleasantly surprised," said No. 2 seed Jen Kessy, who lost the women's final with April Ross. "We go into some places that have no trees ... and it just looks horrible. This actually has a really cool vibe to it. I think it's going to be, as we cross our fingers, one of the great tournaments for the next couple of years."

After Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won the men's final, they said the Riverside Tour Open was the "best parking-lot venue that we've ever played in." 

"Everyone says Riverside [stinks], but I'd have to disagree," said Rogers, who won the gold medal with Dalhausser in the 2008 Olympics. "What I saw of downtown was really nice. The Mission Inn is amazing. The only thing missing is a little water."

Rogers thought more cooling systems should have been set up around the venue. Ross had one minor complaint: "The only thing that [stunk] was the gusty wind, but I think that's random," she said.

Hodell says the tour plans to bring "those gigantic fans you see at NFL games." He'd also like to find ways to enlarge the capacity and not schedule the event the same weekend as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Nonetheless, Hodell and the players generally were pleased with the event. After all, the idea initially met resistance, including how to host a beach volleyball event without a beach. AVP officials compensated by importing 3,500 tons of sand for the 15 courts. Hodell's friendship with Riverside City Councilman Rusty Bailey helped seal the deal. 

With Hodell in transition from Armato's departure, he acknowledged that "it was a very uplifting weekend for me personally."

It was for the players as well. Kessy, Dalhausser and No. 2 seed Sean Rosenthal both voiced their desire to return to Riverside next year. Officials with the Riverside Special Olympic Premiere Team remained hopeful the event would return, subsequently involving them in another clinic.

So how likely will that happen?

"I think 99%," said Bailey, who was Hodell's roommate and volleyball teammate at West Point. "If we can get the business community to step up and say we're going to support this, I think it's a done deal."

-- Mark Medina

Comments

[Marco]

I had a chance to speak with Councilman Bailey, PE colunmist Dan Bernstein, and Matt Calkin I told them the following (also sent it in a e-mail).

1. Change the entry gate; instead of entering off of 3rd street, have fans enter through the area between the convention center and the Marriott. I know that all of those who of us who stayed at the Marriott talked about this.

2. There has to be more done outside of the gates. When I go to Hermosa, Manhattan, Huntington, etc. I can leave the site to have lunch or take a break without having to get into my car. What makes this great is that you only have to miss only 30 minutes or so of all the action going on the courts. Yes, I heard about the businesses on the promenade, but that was after the fact (as told to me by Councilman Bailey). So not only do you want to drive fans to the tournament, but at the same time you want them to walk into and purchase something from your nearby retail businesses. Both on Saturday and Sunday I spent my time going back and forth to the mom and pop market just to the east of 3rd and Market. Never went into CVS or Starbucks. So you know I did visit, Simple Simon's, Farmer Boys, Lake Alice Trading, and Taco Station.

3. A play area for all children in attendance is needed. The beach cities have the beach, Riverside needs something that keeps the kids entertain, and most of all the parents happy to.

4. The Press Enterprise (PE) needs to keep up the story writing or at best the results on each of the remaining 2009 season tournaments. This will keep and hopefully gain more fan interest in the game and in your tour stop. Example, the local paper here in the South Bay the "Daily Breeze," ran Doug Padilla's story about the Riverside tour stop in today's paper. I would also make sure that the PE makes the website Beach Volleyball Database aware of your stories (http://www.bvbinfo.com/). I started reading Mr. Bernstein's stories because of BVBinfo.com.

5. Finally I also suggest that the all those involved in the planning of the Riverside event attend another tour stop (ex. Huntington Beach, Hermosa Beach, or Manhattan Beach). Remember Pablo Picasso once said that all great artists steal.

Again all of these points are just suggestions from one fan of the game. As I tell those who report or govern in my local city, I ask that you only listen. You can't be everywhere. You cannot see or hear everything. So let your citizens (in this case the fans who attend the Riverside tournament) be your eyes and ears too.

[Jimmy]

Marco,
Your comments verge on nit-picky. And how is the limited PE staff gonna cover the rest of the AVP events? Puhleeze!

Jimmy