XFL announces team logos for inaugural season
ST. LOUIS (Heartland Newsfeed) — The XFL adds to the momentum of sports expansion Wednesday, one day removed from Major League Soccer (MLS) announcing St. Louis as the 28th franchise in MLS history. While that franchise won’t be playing until 2022, the upcoming St. Louis XFL franchise will be able to play as soon as next spring.
XFL commissioner Oliver Luck kicked off the announcement at around 11:30 AM local time.
St. Louis was the first franchise team to be announced. It was revealed that the franchise name would be the Battle Hawks. The franchise will play their home games at The Dome at America’s Center.
Luck would hand things over to ESPN personality Laura Rutledge, who revealed the franchises of the Tampa Bay Vipers and New York Guardians, citing her hometown and where she is now. The Vipers will play their home games at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Guardians will play their home games at Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Former ESPN personality and current Fox Sports 1 personality Colin Cowherd would continue the show, revealing the franchises of his hometown and where he is now. It was revealed the teams would be the Seattle Dragons and Los Angeles Wildcats. The Dragons will play their home games at CenturyLink Field, home of NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’ Seattle Sounders. The Wildcats will play their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., home of MLS’ LA Galaxy and the temporary home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.
Coverage would return to Luck who revealed the franchise for Washington, D.C., the Washington Defenders. The Defenders will be playing their home games inside the home of MLS’ DC United, Audi Field.
Rutledge would finish the broadcast, revealing the final two franchises, both in the state of Texas — the Houston Roughnecks and Dallas Renegades. The Roughnecks will play their home games at the University of Houston’s TDECU Stadium. The Renegades will play their home games at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Tex., soon-to-be-former home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, as the Rangers seek to build a new stadium across the street from the current venue.
Within the promos for each franchise expressed the first game to take place in February 2020. Deposits for season tickets and group ticket sales are available on Ticketmaster for each venue, starting at $50, with seat selections beginning in September.
Of the host cities for XFL franchises, New York and Los Angeles were previously represented in the previous league, which ran in 2001. New York shared a franchise with New Jersey called the Hitmen, who played where the Guardians will play beginning in 2020. Los Angeles’ previous franchise, the Xtreme, played their home games inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
