Major League Volleyball awarded its Los Angeles franchise for the 2027 season to a group led by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the biotech billionaire who owns the *Los Angeles Times* and a stake in the Lakers, and Ben Priest, the former business manager who spent two decades steering Kobe Bryant's off-court portfolio. The team becomes MLV's tenth franchise and its second on the West Coast after Austin launched in 2025.
Soon-Shiong's net worth sits near $5.8 billion, most of it from selling drug-delivery patents to pharmaceutical groups. He bought the *Times* and *San Diego Union-Tribune* for $500 million in 2018 and holds roughly 4 percent of the Lakers through a 2010 purchase. Priest, who co-founded Bryant's Granity Studios and Mamba Sports Academy, brings endorsement architecture and venue relationships. Alisha Childress, a former collegiate player and now MLV board member, rounds out the named ownership trio. The purchase price was not disclosed; MLV's Austin franchise sold for approximately $12 million in 2024, according to people familiar with that transaction.
The timing matters because MLV is racing to plant coastal franchises before the NCAA's evolving revenue-share model floods women's volleyball with money and raises talent acquisition costs. The league currently operates nine teams across Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Omaha, and Grand Rapids. Average attendance last season was 2,847 per match, up 18 percent year-over-year, but still trailing the NWSL's 11,250 average. The L.A. market gives MLV access to Southern California's deep youth volleyball infrastructure—427,000 registered USA Volleyball participants in the state—and a sponsorship base that includes Gatorade, Nike, and Wilson, all of whom already hold league-level deals.
Soon-Shiong's involvement also signals that sports ownership is becoming a billionaire's hedge against media fragmentation. He already uses the *Times* to cross-promote Lakers coverage and community programming. An MLV franchise gives him a third content pillar in a market where local sports rights are fracturing. The team will likely play at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion or USC's Galen Center while a permanent venue is arranged; both universities have existing volleyball programs and scheduling windows that align with MLV's January-to-May season. Priest's Mamba Academy connection means the franchise could also anchor youth development programs, a model that's worked for NWSL's Angel City FC, which runs clinics that double as sponsor activations.
The economic case hinges on sponsorship velocity. MLV's current media deal with ESPN runs through 2028 and pays the league roughly $3 million annually, split among teams. That's marginal compared to the NWSL's $240 million package with CBS and ESPN, but volleyball's pitch is lower operating costs—rosters are 14 players versus soccer's 22—and faster break-even timelines. Angel City, which launched in 2022 with similar ownership firepower, reached profitability in year two by stacking local sponsorships from Delta, DoorDash, and Google. MLV Los Angeles will target the same playbook, layering endemic brands like ASICS and Mizuno with non-endemic categories like fintech and wellness.
What to watch: MLV will announce its head coach and general manager by late September 2026, according to the league's expansion timeline. The roster draft happens in January 2027, pulling from collegiate free agents and international transfers. Soon-Shiong's next move is likely a naming-rights partner for the team itself—MLV Austin plays as "ATX Volleyball," but L.A.'s branding remains open. Priest's network includes Crypto.com, which holds the naming rights to the downtown arena; if that relationship extends to the volleyball franchise, it would be the league's first cryptocurrency sponsorship. The franchise will also need to secure 12 to 15 home dates at a venue that seats at least 4,000, and the booking calendar at Pauley Pavilion is already constrained by Bruins basketball and concert residencies.
MLV's commissioner is expected to announce an eleventh franchise by Q4 2026, with Seattle, Phoenix, and Miami in active discussions. The league's investor base now includes three billionaires—Soon-Shiong, Dallas's Mark Cuban, and Chicago's Joe Mansueto—which is either a sign of legitimacy or a signal that wealthy owners are treating women's sports as a tax-loss hobby. The 2027 season starts in January, and L.A.'s first match will likely draw 6,000-plus if Soon-Shiong mobilizes the same celebrity attendance strategy he used for Lakers games. The real test is year two, when the novelty fades and the team has to sell tickets on volleyball, not vibes.