League One Volleyball's 10th pro team arrives with a famous cap table, and the youth clubs underneath it say more about what those owners are paying for than the names do. On October 7, LOVB, the volleyball company that runs youth clubs and a professional league under one brand, named the ownership group behind LOVB Miami. The team debuts in the 2026-27 season as a founding member of LOVB Pro's new Eastern Conference, with the group anchored by the collective of Suprette, Jett Sports, Fifth Down Capital, Chase and Stephanie Coleman, and Jackie Garcia.
Most of the coverage led with the celebrity roster and with a number Forbes attached to the deal, an expansion agreement said to be worth $20 million that LOVB itself hasn't confirmed. The detail that explains the deal better sits lower on the page. LOVB counts more than 30,000 junior athletes across more than 30 states in its club network, and it already has youth clubs operating in South Florida, so Miami's owners are buying into a team that has a local feeder system before it has a venue.
The Clubs Came Before the Franchise
LOVB was founded in 2020 around what it calls a community-up model, and it bills itself as the largest community of youth volleyball clubs in the country. The professional league came later. LOVB Pro served its first ball in January 2025 and is now entering its third season, with teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Madison, Miami, Minnesota, Nebraska, Salt Lake City and San Francisco.
That order matters to anyone pricing a franchise. In Miami, LOVB lists Club 305 Volleyball, Miami Reign and Game Point Volleyball among its youth clubs, and it ties the new pro team directly to them. A club base like that means the team starts life connected to clubs that already train and compete in the market, and the juniors in those clubs will grow up watching a pro roster that wears the same brand they do. It also suggests the club network is doing real work in LOVB's expansion pitch, since every new market can point to its local clubs as proof the fan base exists.
Sandra Idehen, Commissioner of LOVB Pro, framed the market around exactly that base when she described the city:
"Miami is a city that lives and breathes sport, and volleyball is at the center, from the beach to the club courts to its deep Latina, Brazilian and Caribbean volleyball communities."
The club courts are the piece an owner can actually count. LOVB hasn't said whether the Miami clubs are wholly owned or affiliated, and that distinction would shape how much of the youth business sits inside the same company as the pro team.
The $20 Million Is a Forbes Number
Forbes' Sofia Chierchio reported on October 7 that the expansion deal is said to be worth $20 million. LOVB's own materials carry no figure, and the league hasn't confirmed the number. That leaves a lot open. It's unclear whether $20 million describes an expansion fee paid to the league or a total capital commitment to stand up the team, and the ownership split inside the group is undisclosed. So is any valuation for the team or for LOVB as a whole.
The operating details for Miami are still ahead. Fans can place season ticket deposits now, and LOVB says the roster and the venue will be named in the coming weeks. Until the venue is named, the cost side of running the team is hard to judge from the outside.
A Cap Table Built for Reach
The athlete and celebrity list is long. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie leads it, and the rest of the group includes Olympic gold medalist Sha'Carri Richardson, Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, Carlos Dunlap, Ryan Clark, Braxton Berrios, Aury Cruz, Phil Dalhausser, Tri Bourne, Pusha T, Hannah Stocking, Melissa Ortiz, Anne O'Neil and Ros Gold-Onwude. The group also includes owners of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, MLB's Tampa Bay Rays and the NWSL's North Carolina Courage, though the individuals weren't named.
Leslie described the seat she took as one with a say in where the sport goes:
"Being at the ownership table means having a voice in shaping the future of sport while creating more opportunities for athletes outside the lines."
Richardson, for her part, pointed to Miami's standing as a top 10 financial market as the reason the investment made sense to her. A roster like this one likely does two jobs at once. The famous names give a first-season team an audience it doesn't have to buy, and the franchise owners in the group bring people who've run teams before. How much each group put in, and who holds governance rights, is the part the record leaves blank.
Takeaways for Investors
The Price Is Still a Reported Number
Forbes reported the deal as said to be worth $20 million, and LOVB hasn't confirmed it. Until the league or the owners put a figure on the record, it's unclear whether that's a fee paid to the league or a broader commitment to the team.
The Youth Clubs Sit Under the Team
LOVB's more than 30,000 junior athletes, by its own count, are the base each new market is built on. In Miami that base already includes three named LOVB youth clubs.
Franchise Owners From Other Leagues Joined the Group
Owners tied to three established pro franchises sit in the group, which brings team operating experience to an expansion club. Their stakes and roles are undisclosed.
Watch the Venue Decision
LOVB says the venue will be named in the coming weeks. That choice will show how much the Miami owners are committing to the cost of a first season, and it's the first operating decision the new group will own in public.
