Major League Volleyball announced a Los Angeles expansion franchise for its 2027 season, led by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and investor Ben Priest. No purchase price was disclosed. The team marks the league's eighth market and first in Southern California since MLV launched play in 2025.
Soon-Shiong owns the Los Angeles Times and previously held a minority stake in the Lakers, which he sold in 2010. Priest is a recurring figure in early-stage sports properties, having participated in franchise formations across indoor soccer and secondary basketball leagues. The pair's involvement suggests MLV is pricing expansion slots below the eight-figure threshold that typically draws institutional capital but above the vanity-project range. Comparable indoor volleyball properties in Europe have traded between $3 million and $12 million for established franchises; a startup market in the U.S. likely clears at the lower end.
The timing matters. MLV is moving into Los Angeles ahead of proven demand but behind infrastructure. The league has yet to announce an arena partner, and USC's Galen Center—capacity 10,258—is locked with Pac-12 obligations through 2027. That leaves secondary venues or a partnership with AEG's portfolio, which includes the downtown Convention Center and a calendar already strained by the Sparks, Kings, and event bookings. The Philadelphia franchise, by contrast, secured a naming-rights partner and a Wells Fargo Center date block before its inaugural season.
Soon-Shiong's entry also clarifies MLV's investor profile. He is not buying courtside for entertainment; he bought the Times in 2018 for $500 million and has used it to build influence in local civic projects, including a failed bid to bring an NFL team back to the city. A volleyball franchise costs a fraction of that outlay and delivers the same access to civic conversations, sponsor boardrooms, and political leverage. Priest's presence signals the operational model: Soon-Shiong writes the anchor check, Priest builds the business, and both exit when the league matures or consolidates.
MLV's broader strategy becomes visible in the sequencing. The league added Austin in January, Miami in March, and now Los Angeles in June. Each market is top-15 metro, each has a billionaire anchor or private-equity lead, and none have overlapping ownership groups. That suggests the league office is running a controlled auction, pricing teams individually, and avoiding the multi-franchise discount that plagued Major League Soccer's early expansion rounds. It also means MLV is unlikely to reach 12 teams—the minimum for a two-conference playoff structure—before 2028, extending the league's cash-burn window but preserving franchise scarcity.
The L.A. deal also repositions Soon-Shiong within the city's ownership class. Since selling his Lakers stake, he has remained visible but peripheral—vocal on health policy, absent from the Rams or Chargers deals, and sidelined during the 2028 Olympics planning. A volleyball franchise is a low-cost re-entry. If MLV gains traction, he holds a founding stake in a growing property. If it stalls, the write-off is negligible, and the relationships built with sponsors, venue operators, and city officials carry forward.
What to watch: MLV typically announces venue partnerships within 90 days of franchise launches. Expect either an AEG deal or a creative arrangement with a university partner by September. Also tracking: whether Soon-Shiong or Priest takes an active board role at the league level, which would signal expansion into additional West Coast markets—San Diego, Seattle, Portland—on a faster timeline than the league's current 18-month launch cadence.
Sacramento's MLB push, announced the same day, underscores the broader theme. Secondary sports properties are moving into top-tier markets because the cost of entry has dropped, sponsor budgets are fragmenting, and team operators are learning that a small, engaged audience delivers better unit economics than a large, indifferent one. Soon-Shiong is betting $5 million to $8 million that volleyball clears that bar in Los Angeles. By 2027, we'll know if he priced it right.
The takeaway
Soon-Shiong's L.A. volleyball bet signals MLV is pricing expansion below eight figures, running a controlled auction, and targeting billionaire anchors over institutional capital.
major league volleyballlos angelespatrick soon-shiongleague expansionsports ownershipfranchise valuation
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