Two professional women's volleyball leagues announce new Minnesota teams
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Two new professional women’s volleyball leagues announced expansion teams in Minnesota in the last week.
Major League Volleyball announced Tuesday that it will expand to Minnesota. League One Volleyball revealed its new Minnesota team on Friday.
Both the Major League Volleyball and League One teams will debut in January 2027.
Minnesota Sports and Entertainment will be the majority owner of the Major League Volleyball team. It also owns the Minnesota Wild. The company’s owner Craig Leipold said they did not realize both leagues would have teams in the state.
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“You may understand or have heard there is another league, and this is the league that we have chosen,” Leipold said. “When we were doing our due diligence, we assumed that there would be one in this market. And really, you know, we feel very confident in our ability to be successful and put the right team out there and sell the tickets the right way.”
Minnesota won’t be the only market with competing leagues, said Scott Gorsline, co-chair of the MLV Board of Directors.
“I would say it's definitely not ideal to be going head-to-head in new markets, but I would also say that this group, this arena, you really can't, in my opinion, compete with what they offer,” Gorsline said.
Leipold said the state has a strong fan base for both volleyball and women’s sports.
"Interest in women's sports is at an all-time high. This is not just a moment. This is a movement. Minnesota continues to be a great supporter of women's professional sports. The Minnesota Lynx, the Minnesota Frost and the Minnesota Aurora FC are just some examples of that,” he said.
The University of Minnesota Gopher volleyball team consistently ranks among the top five nationally in attendance, averaging more than 5,000 fans per game.
Minnesota had a professional women’s volleyball team in the 1980s. The Minnesota Monarchs played well-attended regular season matches at Augsburg College.
The Major League Volleyball team will play at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. League One Volleyball did not give details on its venue in the press release.
League One, also called LOVB, currently has teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Nebraska and Salt Lake City. Minnesota and Los Angeles will join the league in 2027.
Major League Volleyball has teams in Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Omaha, Orlando and San Diego. In addition to Minnesota, it will also have two other expansion teams that will start playing in 2027: Northern California and Washington, D.C.
Major League Volleyball will announce the new team's name, logo and colors next year.
