XFL Unveils Eight Cities, Venues for Teams to Launch in February 2020
The XFL has unveiled the cities and venues for its eight-team league that will debut in 2020, the league announced Wednesday.
Teams will play in New York (MetLife Stadium), Washington D.C. (Audi Field), Los Angeles (StubHub Center), Houston (TDECU Stadium), St. Louis (The Dome at America's Center), Seattle (Century Link Field), Dallas (Globe Life Park) and Tampa Bay (Raymond James Stadium).
The XFL will launch in 2020 on Feb. 8 and 9, which is the weekend after Super Bowl LIV. The league's opening weekend will arrive one year after the Alliance of American Football kicks off on Feb. 9, 2019. The AAF also has eight teams and a 10-week schedule but has targeted mid-size markets. It plans to act as a feeder league where players can hone their skills before possibly moving to the NFL.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced in January that the revived XFL would launch in 2020 with eight teams of 40 players and a 10-game schedule. McMahon also said the game will be played faster–in about two hours–and more "fan-centric." In October, XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck said the league had no plans to resurrect original team names and identities.
At Wednesday's press conference, Luck said the XFL will test for PEDs.
The original XFL, which promised a brand of football somehow even more violent than the NFL, lasted just one season in 2001 and cost both WWE and NBC millions of dollars.
