Refreshed AVP Tour returns

AVP Pro Beach Volleyball returns to one of its marquee events this weekend, in Manhattan Beach, amid fresh optimism about the struggling sport’s future.

The series hopes this year’s Manhattan Beach Open, part of the AVP Crocs Tour, will capitalize on the excitement of having two of its top teams win gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Tour operator AVP Inc. also received a $3.5-million infusion last week from an investment group, cash that was sorely needed because AVP had lost several million dollars over the last two years.

On the sand this weekend, the top-seeded women’s pair of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh will try to win its fourth consecutive Manhattan Beach title.

The pair also won its second Olympic gold medal in China last month, and the team is the reigning Crocs Cup women’s champion.

But May-Treanor and Walsh saw another streak end Aug. 31 when they lost to Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh in the AVP Cincinnati Open. Before then, the team had won 112 consecutive matches and 19 titles dating back more than a year.

On the men’s side, the team of Nick Lucena and Sean Scott tops the series standings.

But the second-place team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers -- which also won gold in Beijing and is the reigning Crocs Cup men’s champion -- has won the last two Manhattan Beach events.

The women’s matches are today and Saturday; the men play those days and have their final matches Sunday.

The tour’s previous three events -- in Cincinnati, Santa Barbara and San Francisco -- drew sizable crowds and “there is a lot of optimism” about the series’ future, said Jason Hodell, AVP’s chief operating officer.

AVP is an unusual sanctioning body because its stock is publicly held. However, the stock trades for less than $1 a share amid AVP’s financial problems.

The Los Angeles-based company lost $4 million in 2007 (on revenue of $24.1 million) and it lost an additional $3.2 million in the six months that ended June 30 this year.

AVP last year was the object of a $37-million buyout offer from Shamrock Holdings, a Burbank investment firm headed by Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold. But the deal collapsed after some AVP investors objected to the terms.

AVP said last week that another investment group, New York-based RJSM Partners, provided $3.5 million to bolster the company’s financial health. In exchange, RJSM now effectively owns 25% of AVP.

The cash infusion, “coming on the heels of a terrific Olympic experience where our two top teams won gold medals, has really acted as a springboard for our brand’s popularity,” Hodell said.

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james.peltz@latimes.com