XFL names 8 host cities for rebooted league ready to kick off in 2023

The XFL on Sunday unveiled the eight markets in which teams will be playing once the league kicks off starting in the spring of 2023.

Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made the announcement at an XFL townhall in Arlington, Texas with the start of the rebooted league just months away.

Arlington, Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington were named the host sites. Bob Stoops will coach Arlington, Wade Phillips will coach Houston, Terrell Buckley will coach Orlando, Rod Woodson will coach Las Vegas, Hines Ward will coach San Antonio, Jim Haslett will coach Seattle, Anthony Becht will coach St. Louis and Reggie Barlow will coach Washington.

“We’ve had a clear vision for the XFL – the values to instill, the diversity of our leaders, the innovation of the game and how we want to deeply engage with our communities so they can help bring this vision to life. Today, our league takes another step closer to 2023 kickoff as we officially announce where our teams will play,” Garcia said in a news release. “What brings a league to life is the passion of the fandom behind it. In each of these cities we will co-create with our fans and build these teams from the ground up so that they represent the unique fabric of our communities. We welcome all football fans to join us as we get ready for kickoff in February.”

Johnson added: “As Dany, Gerry Cardinale and I put pen to paper rebuilding this league, the first thing we identified as one of the most important elements for the XFL to be successful was selecting the iconic cities and venues for our teams. “For each community to join in the rally cries of their chosen team, to support and lift up these players and their families who would be representing each city…THEIR city…we needed to make sure we were including the most important voices in the room – the fans – when making these decisions.  We have been working on cool, new logos and innovative uniforms, that match the dynamic and innovative vision of our league. We can’t wait to share in the electrifying excitement from fans once they meet their new ‘hometown team’. We’ll see you at kickoff.”

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Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner at RedBird Capital Partners, vowed to make the XFL the “No. 1 Spring League in the world.”

The XFL will kick off Feb. 18, 2023 and will likely overlap with the United States Football League, which is set to return in 2023 as well. Team names will be announced at a later date.

The XFL was sold to Garcia, Johnson and Cardinale after the 2020 version was forced to close up shop thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 version featured teams in Arlington, Houston, Carson, California, Seattle, Washington, East Rutherford, N.J., St. Louis and Tampa.