The World Championships of Beach Volleyball concluded
Saturday at the UCLA tennis center and southern Californians
"are veritable sticks in the sand when it comes to their
beach volleyball ... which resulted in more than 1,000 empty
seats," according to Mike Penner of the L.A. TIMES. Beach
volleyball on tennis courts "was a mixed proposition at
best." While Management Plus promoter Leonard Armato said
the artificial beach succeeded in "changing perceptions"
about the sport in southern CA, FIVB President Ruben Acosta
"expressed disappointment at the small crowds at UCLA" and
said that if the championships ever return to the L.A. area
he would go to Manhattan Beach. Penner: "Attendance became
such a sensitive issue among tournament organizers that no
official gate totals were released for any of the four dates
of competition." Acosta said he was "very concerned" about
the size of the crowd and "promised to 'do my best to see
that these seats will not be empty at the next World
Championships.'" Penner: "Those are scheduled for 1999,
possibly in South Africa, possibly in Berlin, but not
probably back in Westwood" (L.A. TIMES, 9/14). Preliminary
overnights for NBC's coverage on Sunday of the volleyball
championship finals were a 2.5/5 (THE DAILY).
