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PUERTO RICO HERALD
Women’s Volleyball Season Opens, Expos Tickets To Go On Sale In San Juan
By Gabrielle Paese
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January 10, 2003
Copyright © 2003 PUERTO RICO HERALD. All Rights Reserved.
 Puerto Rico Volleyball Federation president Carlos Beltrán could be just the spin doctor the island's winter baseball league needs to get out of the doldrums.
Here is a man who took over an ailing league in 1994 and turned it into a huge spectator sport, despite not having a product anywhere near the caliber of professional baseball.
Go figure. The Women's Superior Volleyball League (WSVL) season got under way this week with more fans for opening day than the winter baseball league gets in its playoffs. All that, and some of the league's best players won't even be on the court this season.
University of Florida's Aury Cruz, a reserve with the Toa Baja Llaneras, won't be seeing action, nor will Nebraska two-sport star Greichaly Cepero. Neither can play in Puerto Rico´s league due in part to a new NCAA eligibility rule that declares these sports leagues "professional" and precludes Division I players from participating.
Former Iowa State outside hitter Sheila López is also looking like a big maybe for the 2003 season as is Caguas Criollas franchise player Vanessa Papaleo. Both are sticking to their requests for free agency. Lopez wants out of her San Juan Chicas contract, but already vetoed a trade that would have sent her to the Ponce Leonas in the 10-team league.
Also likely to miss part of the season is Bayamón corner Lyann Puig, who was injured in a motorcycle accident last week.
None of this worries Beltrán, who knows that any talk about his league, positive or negative, is good for business. He's got a list of sponsors the basketball and baseball leagues envy, a season-long television contract on local Channel 13 and a way with the media that should have winter baseball league president Enrique Cruz taking notes. It doesn't hurt that volleyball is the No. 1 participatory sport for school-age girls in Puerto Rico, according to Inter American University data.
The WSVL allows one import player to the teams finishing among the top six and two imports for the teams finishing in the last four places for a total of 14 imports. Because the WSVL's salary cap is about $15,000, Puerto Rico doesn't attract the top players, most of whom head to Europe. However, the WSVL got a big boost this season after the four-team U.S. Pro Volleyball League folded at the last minute due to lack of sponsorship. Former U.S. Pro Volleyball League players who will see action this season are Nicole McRay (Guaynabo), Jennifer Kessy and Benishe Roberts (Corozal), Kristee Porter and Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Carolina) and Sarah Butler (Moca).
The Caguas Criollas are vying for their fourth straight league title and their seventh in eight years. You can follow all the action on the league's website, www.fpvoleibol.com <http://www.fpvoleibol.com/> .
'Expos in San Juan' tickets to go on sale
Tickets for the Montreal Expos´ 22-game homestand at San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium officially go on sale with an "open house" at the stadium Jan. 18-19. Expos and Major League Baseball brass are expected to be there and the first sales will be for "season" tickets only, meaning for all 22 games in San Juan.
Expect these tickets to go faster than Puerto Rican flags at an anti-Navy rally in Vieques.
Juan Rodríguez Mejias, a sports management whiz, is in charge of overseeing the event, including ticket sales, for local promoter Antonio Muñoz. Rodríguez said this week that folks interested in buying lower-level seating behind home plate and the dugouts in blocks for all 22 games can contact him directly at 787-791-0505 or via fax at 787-791-3220. Tickets in these seats only go on sale Jan. 18-19, with the rest of the 19,000 seats expected to go on sale to the general public around Jan. 23.
"We'll be making the official announcement next week, but right now we are receiving requests from corporate clients," he said.
The 1,002 seats in the lower level A section are priced at $85 per seat while the 1,252 seats in the B section go for $75.
"The reality is that those seats will probably be sold out by the first day in the VIP area and the area behind home plate," said Rodríguez. "But that happens in most ballparks and there will still be plenty of good seats available at prices for every fan's budget."
After the Jan. 18-19 corporate sales, general tickets are expected to go on sale at local outlets, such as Plaza Las Américas beginning Jan. 23. Rodríguez said he's currently working on either putting together a website especially for San Juan's ticket sales or using MLB's existing Montreal Expos website with online tickets available after Jan. 23. That means folks who buy their tickets in Puerto Rico will get first dibs.
By Rodríguez's numbers, there will be a total of 5,389 general admission seats at $25 a pop with another $5,000 outfield bleacher seats going for $10 each. He said there is also the potential for 3,500 in standing room only. Hmmm, how about just parking your car on the Las Américas Expressway and watching the game for free?
The Expos open their San Juan season versus the New York Mets from April 11-14, followed by the Atlanta Braves April 15-17 and Cincinnati April 18-20.
The second homestand brings World Series defending champion Anaheim to San Juan June 3-5 and the Texas Rangers June 6-8. The final homestand is Sept. 5-7 versus the Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs Sept. 9-11.
Gabrielle Paese is the Assistant Sports Editor at the San Juan Star. She is the 2000 recipient of the Overseas Press Club's Rafael Pont Flores Award for excellence in sports reporting. Comments or suggestions? Contact Gabrielle at gpaese@hotmail.com.
Her Column, Puerto Rico Sports Beat, appears weekly in the Puerto Rico Herald.
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