Major League Volleyball is expanding into North Texas. The Dallas Pulse open their inaugural season Saturday at Comerica Center in Frisco.
"I've been working on this a long time and thinking about it a long time," says Dallas Pulse Chief Executive Officer Grady Raskin. "I almost can't believe this Saturday, we'll be playing our first match. It's exciting; I can't wait to see it."
Raskin says competitive volleyball is growing worldwide. He says the sport is also enjoying a "rennaissance" at the college level.
"They set all kinds of viewership records for volleyball," he says. "Then obviously, Texas A&M won which gives us that Texas tie that we're super proud of."
Last month, Texas A&M beat Kentucky to win its first women's volleyball title.
Raskin says he has worked on the Major League Volleyball expansion into Texas for about two years but previously worked on the most recent iteration of the XFL in Arlington.
"I've been working on emerging sports the last five or six years," he says. "What I can tell you about women's volleyball is there's an open field. There's no other professional volleyball in North Texas that competes with us. There's plenty of soccer, you can go to minor league baseball, you can go to professional baseball. While there is NCAA volleyball, our season starts right when theirs ends."
Raskin says the Dallas Pulse can draw fans since most people have played volleyball in some form whether it was competitive or just for fun in an office or neighborhood group.
"That gives us kind of an edge as well," he says. "There are thousands and thousands of people in the North Texas region that play volleyball. Most people watch, listen to or attend sports they played as a child or play as an adult currently."
Raskin says North Texas also has 140 registered club teams, so the Dallas Pulse can introduce kids to the sport.
"The way Major League Volleyball players play is intense," he says. "It's electric, it's fast and it's extremely competitive. Our players, this is their job. They are professional athletes."
Dallas Pulse opens at 6 p.m. Saturday hosting Indy Ignite at the Comerica Center in Frisco. The season continues through the first weekend in May. Tickets and more information are available at https://provolleyball.com/teams/dallas-pulse.