Beach volleyball, made in the shade

At least it's one way to prevent skin cancer.
The AVP announced today formal plans to conduct an indoor arena pro beach volleyball series starting in January and running seven weeks through Feb. 23 in 19 cities around the country that are typically snowbound in the early winter. The closest this will come to L.A. is the last event in Las Vegas, which just as easily could be outdoors but will be inside at the Orleans Arena.
The AVP "Hot Winter Nights" tour is set to be sort of a one-night, barnstorming, three-hour competition and a "beach festival," including shipping more than 200 tons of sand.
What about tanning booths for those who need that indoor-tan look?
Current AVP players such as Kerri Walsh, Misty May-Treanor, Elaine Youngs, Jake Gibbs, Sean Rosenthal, Phil Dalhauser, Todd Rogers and Stein Metzer have committed to play in a round-robin format.
Tickets for the events are already on sale at the AVP site or Ticketmaster.
The schedule:
Jan. 10 - Oklahoma City, OK – Ford Center
Jan. 11 - St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
Jan. 12 - Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
Jan. 17 - Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
Jan. 18 - Madison, WI – Alliant Energy Center
Jan. 19 - LaCrosse, WI – LaCrosse Center
Jan. 24 - Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Jan. 26 - Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Jan. 30 - Albany, NY – Times Union Center
Jan. 31 - Trenton, NJ – Sovereign Bank Arena
Feb. 1 - Norfolk, VA – Constant Convocation Center
Feb. 7 - Omaha, NE – Qwest Center
Feb. 8 - Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
Feb. 9 - Bloomington, IL – US Cellular Coliseum
Feb. 13 - Spokane, WA – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Feb. 14 - Everett, WA – Everett Event Center
Feb. 16 - Portland, OR – Rose Quarter Arena
Feb. 23 - Las Vegas NV – Orleans Arena