AVP Owner Donald Sun has "plans to expand the AVP presence beyond coastal communities," but he "wants to make sure not to ignore the sport's roots," according to Jeremy Balan of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Sun has "expressed interest" in holding events in Texas, Chicago and N.Y. However, he said, "It's important to come to the places with history, like Manhattan Beach and Huntington Beach. SoCal is where beach volleyball originated. (Bringing the tour back to Orange County) is for the fans and for the reverence of the sport itself." The AVP this season has "expanded to seven locations (including traditional sites like Manhattan Beach and Santa Barbara, as well as a less-than-traditional stop in Salt Lake City)," with this week's AVP Beach Volleyball Championships in Huntington Beach as the tour finale. The event will be "the first major AVP tournament in Orange County" since it went bankrupt in October '10. Traditional venues like Huntington Beach "will be integral for the AVP, which is still rebuilding." Player April Ross said, "It is so unfortunate that the AVP name is associated with what happened back then" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 10/17).
