Back in January of this year, Vince McMahon announced that he would be stepping out of the world of professional wrestling and back onto the gridiron again. Yes, the XFL is coming back and it will have its inaugural (return) season in 2020, but fans had no real idea if there would even be a team anywhere near them. On Wednesday, December 5, the official announcement was made and all eight teams/cities were revealed.
By the time the XFL begins playing again in 2020, it will have been nearly two decades since the franchise existed. It folded back in 2001 after a number of problems and not receiving nearly the amount of attention or achieving the popularity levels that Vince McMahon thought it would.
Now, he is hoping that things have changed along with time and that the world will simply be happy with more football.
Last week, it was revealed that St. Louis would see professional football return to the city, but it wouldn’t be the NFL. As reported by Pro Football Talk , an XFL team would reportedly land in St. Louis and that was 100 percent confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
While there is still a lot of work to do and plenty of things to get in place, the official Twitter account of the XFL made the announcement of its cities on Wednesday.
The first season of the XFL will officially begin in February of 2020, and that is right after the NFL season concludes with the Super Bowl. It will be a 10-game schedule for each team which will run through April and ends with semifinal rounds in the playoffs and a championship game.
The exact launch date will be February 8 and February 9, 2020, which is one weekend after the Super Bowl.
Here are the eight cities which have been confirmed to receive a team for the XFL’s first season back and the locations they will play in.
- Dallas – Globe Life Park
- Houston – BBVA Compass Stadium
- Los Angeles – StubHub Center
- New York – MetLife Stadium
- St. Louis – Dome at America’s Center
- Seattle – CenturyLink Field
- Tampa Bay – Raymond James Stadium
- Washington – Audi Field
The nation’s capital is home to our eighth #XFL team! @XFLDC
— XFL (@XFL2023) December 5, 2018
More than 30 teams expressed interest in housing an XFL team, but only eight were selected for now. It’s not out of the question for more cities to receive teams if the league ends up having success.
#XFL2020 : @XFLNY @XFLDallas @XFLHouston @XFLLosAngeles @XFLStLouis @XFLSeattle @XFLTampaBay @XFLDC pic.twitter.com/mTVs1lUHWP
— XFL (@XFL2023) December 5, 2018
Uniform designs are expected to be announced during the first quarter of 2019 along with team nicknames likely coming around the same time.
XFL CEO and Commissioner Oliver Luck said that a Football Reimagined Committee was put together to help “redefine the game” of football. Four major areas have been their focus and the XFL will make sure that they remain in place during the season, as reported by SE Scoops .
- Player safety
- Meaningful on-field action – New rules for punts, punt returns, kickoffs, and the play clock
- In-game rhythm and flow – Game and TV timeouts limited with simplified rules to bring forth fewer interruptions
- Speed: Games are expected to last three hours or less
The XFL is going to be a professional football league which will have more interaction from the fans and looks to give them all kinds of access to coaches and players. Vince McMahon and Oliver Luck aren’t yet ready to announce their media partners as of yet, but “big players” are said to be involved. Now, the eight cities getting a team have been revealed and all of the XFL action begins again in 2020.
