League One Volleyball (LOVB) has announced its playing venues for its six teams that will compete in the inaugural season in 2025.
LOVB has also set its schedule, starting January 8 when LOVB Salt Lake plays at LOVB Atlanta, and finishing with the LOVB Finals in mid-April.
“We’ve partnered with great venues in each of our pro markets, locations that were selected based on their capabilities and expertise in hosting high-level sporting events, their amenities, and having the right capacity level for an inaugural season,” LOVB CEO Rosie Spaulding said. “This gives us the opportunity to keep the fans close to the action in season one, and prepares us to grow into our next seasons.”
The Atlanta team will play at the Gateway Center Arena (capacity 3,500) in College Park, Georgia. It’s the same venue in which the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA and the NBA G League College Park Skyhawks compete.
LOVB’s Austin, Texas, team will play at the H-E-B Center and Strahan Arena. H-E-B Center (capacity 8,000) is located North of Austin in Cedar Park and is home to a minor league hockey team and the NBA G League Austin Spurs. The Strahan Center (capacity 10,000) is the Texas State on-campus sports arena in San Marcos.
The Houston team will play in the Fort Bend County EpiCenter, about 34 miles southwest of Houston in Fort Bend. It’s a multi-purpose event center.
The Madison, Wisconsin, franchise will play at the Wisconsin Field House and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Field House on the University of Wisconsin campus (capacity 7,540) is home to the school’s volleyball (which always sells out) and basketball teams. The Coliseum (capacity 10,231) and is home to concerts, sporting evengs and shows.
LOVB’s Omaha team will play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena and Baxter Arena. Liberty First (capacity 4,356) is located just west of Omaha and is home to a minor league hockey team and an indoor football league team. Baxter Arena (capacity 7,898) is home venue for the University of Nebraska Omaha where its volleyball, basketball and hockey teams play.
Salt Lake will play at Bruin Arena and the Maverik Center. The Salt Lake Community College’s Bruin Arena (capacity 5,000) is just southwest of downtown Salt Lake City. The Maverik Center (capacity 12,000) is in West Valley City, also just southwest of SLC, and home to minor league hockey team.
LOVB said in a news release that “The inaugural LOVB regular season features 56 matches, plus the LOVB Classic – our in-season tournament February 15-17 in conjunction with Triple Crown NIT (in Kansas City) – and the LOVB Finals in mid-April.
“Each week, LOVB’s first season will feature four matches: one head-to-head contest and a Weekend with LOVB, where four teams meet in one market for a trio of matches. Each Weekend with LOVB features the host team playing twice and a neutral site match featuring two out-of-town teams.”
For more: lovb.com/schedule
