At a townhall meeting in Arlington, Texas on Sunday afternoon, XFL owners Dany Garcia and her husband, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, announced the eight markets that will be franchises in the restart of the league on February 18, 2023. If the latest attempt to find success in spring football grabs hold, the state of Texas will have a major say in the proceedings.
Host sites for XFL franchises in 2023 will include three of the eight squads based in Texas, with Arlington, San Antonio, and Houston pegged for teams. That group will be joined by St Louis, Orlando, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
The 2020 version of the XFL seemed to have positive early momentum, particularly in a St. Louis market that was jilted by the NFL in the move of the Rams to Los Angeles. Crowds upwards of 30,000 plus were noted in the domed stadium in downtown St. Louis to watch the Battlehawks, before the sports shutdown caused by COVID-19 derailing the fledging league. The 2023 version will not be returning to the Los Angeles, New York, or Tampa Bay markets. However, the 2023 version of the XFL will have direct competition, with the United States Football League set to return for its second season next year, moving games to individual host cities after all USFL regular season games this year were played in Birmingham, Alabama. Team names for the rebirth of the XFL have yet to be announced.
