Long Beach goes big in beach volleyball

In an all American 2013 semifinal of the inaugural ASICS World Series Cup, April Ross and Jennifer Kessy defeated Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Whitney Pavlik to advance to the final in Long Beach. Here, Walsh-Jennings spikes the ball in game 2. (Scott Varley, Los Angeles News Group file) 

By Phil Collin, phil.collin@langnews.com, @philcollin1 on Twitter

POSTED: 07/20/14, 6:17 PM PDT |

When: Tuesday, July 22-Sunday, July 27

Where: Long Beach/Alamitos Beach, Shoreline Drive

Volleyball: FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam featuring top players from about 30 countries; USA Volleyball West Coast Classic juniors, NCSVA Collegiate Sand Championships, USAVB High Performance tournament, 6-man youth, Coed 4’s, 6-man, 6-man coed

Other events: Live music daily including MAGIC!, Ryan Cabrera, Katy Tiz, Eric Hutchinson, DJ Irie

Admission: General admission free. VIP tickets:www.ticketfly.com/org/2713. Parking:www.wsobv.com/getting-there

TV: NBC all week:www.wsobv.com/getting-there(click broadcast schedule)

More information:www.wsobv.comIt was the end of a long, hot week on the sands of Alamitos Beach and Long Beach had seen an estimated 40,000 fans attend the World Series of Beach Volleyball.

The best players in the world had shown up on the heels of the 2012 Olympics, and in the first international beach volleyball event on American sand in 10 years all involved were pleasantly surprised by the event’s success.

A deep breath from event organizer Leonard Armato? Fat chance.

He looked at 2014 and saw more, bigger and better.

“It’s my feeling you have to go big or go home,” Armato said on the eve of the 2014 event, which showcases this week’s FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam. “And you’ve got to do something that cuts through the clutter and makes people take notice.”

Few can stare at the clutter and cut through like Armato, the former commissioner of the Association of Beach Professionals. He once was Shaquille O’Neal’s agent, for crying out loud.

What he envisions for the upcoming week is nothing short of an extravaganza. Well, maybe not envisions but demands.

The centerpiece of the event is having the world beach tour, the one that produces the Olympians, compete for $1 million in prize money. That in itself is a magnetic draw to Southern California volleyball fanatics. But Armato, one of those fanatics growing up in Manhattan Beach, knows his business.

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