In a major announcement this afternoon, the XFL revealed all eight teams that will compete in their upcoming 2020 relaunch, as well as plenty of new details for the alternative football league.
The Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy was on-hand to kick off the press conference at MetLife Stadium today. The building is home to two NFL teams — the New York Giants and New York Jets — and of course, next year’s WrestleMania 35. Murphy confirmed that a third football team will be utilizing the stadium when the XFL returns in 2020.
Former Houston Oilers quarterback Oliver Luck (father of Andrew Luck) will serve as Commissioner of the league, and was also on-hand to push the XFL’s use of next generation technology, a simplification of the rules, an increased focus on player safety as well as speeding up the game overall.
Commissioner Luck emphasized that they are committed to “listening to the fans” and keeping each game well under three hours. He also confirmed that the league will be testing for performance enhancing drugs, and is working with a world class panel of doctors and medical professionals to craft the best regulations possible.
In terms of selecting host cities for the XFL’s first season, it was noted that more than 30 cities and venues expressed interest in participating, and that the league was looking for dedicated long-term partners rather than just a buildings to rent.
The following host cities were officially confirmed:
East Rutherford, NJ (MetLife Stadium)Arlington, TX (Globe Life Park) Houston, TX (TDECU Stadium)Los Angeles, CA (Stubhub Center)St. Louis, MO (The Dome at America’s Center)Seattle, WA (CenturyLink Field)Tampa, FL (Raymond James Stadium)Washington, D.C. (Audi Field)
The inaugural XFL season will take place on the weekend of Feb. 8-9, 2020 — the week following Super Bowl LIII.
Today’s big reveal fell in line with a report from last week which caught a potential leak on the XFL website, listing the phone numbers for eight league headquarters in different cities around the country.