Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé to bring new women’s professional sports team to Sacramento
Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé is part of an ownership group of a new women’s sports league that plans on having a professional team in Sacramento.
MLV Holdings, a newly formed investment group of which Ranadivé is a founding partner, announced it would launch Major League Volleyball, which has received over $100 million in initial funding. The women’s league will have 10 teams launching in 2026 including one in Sacramento owned by Ranadivé.
The investment group includes three-time Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Formula 1 executive Ben Priest. Also in the group are Danny White and Jason Derulo, who began the pre-existing Omaha Supernovas. The Supernovas are leaving the Pro Volleyball Federation, an eight-team league that began play in 2024, to help start MLV. The two leagues appear to be direct competitors.
“Our sport deserves the best of the best,” Walsh Jennings said in a news release. “Our women are kick-ass individuals and athletes, and it is long overdue for there to be a product that resembles the biggest and brightest sports, media and entertainment platforms on the planet. This is the league I would have wished to play in, and the Supernovas are a standard for a pro team that I would have wanted to play for. Stay tuned!”
MLV said it will have teams in Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, Ohio and Washington. Teams will be independently owned and operated with the new league creating “ownership standards and operational playbooks to ensure major league standards are upheld at every level.” The league says it aims to empower young women athletes and create career paths in professional volleyball.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 11:52 AM.
