Sunday night showcased the excitement XFL fans have for the upcoming season with the league’s town hall in Arlington, Texas.
Over 500 fans filled the middle of Texas Live! in between Choctaw Stadium (the new home of the Arlington XFL team) and Globe Life Field. Throughout the town hall, fans were heard and seen chanting “XFL, XFL XFL” as well as giving love to their owners, Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, by chanting their names. It was a night of celebration, excitement, and anticipation for the upcoming 2023 season.
Most fans were hoping to hear about team names and logos, but they settled for hearing the city locations for all the teams and most of their venue locations (except for Las Vegas). This piece of news was exciting enough for fans to get behind and soak in the news for the next few weeks.
There was never a dull moment during the event as it was everything fans were hoping for and more. Fans did get some easter eggs and strong hints of what’s to come here in the next seven months before kickoff on February 18th, 2023.
XFL Team Locations, Venues, and Hints on Team Name Announcement
The biggest news of the night and what everyone came for was to hear the team locations. It was announced that it was Las Vegas, San Antonio, and Orlando was the new locations for the teams. The XFL announced the return of Houston, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington D.C., and Arlington.
One interesting note from the city announcements was the fact that “Dallas” was never referred to by the crowd. They kept referring to the team playing in Arlington as the “Arlington XFL team”. Despite the team playing in the same location as 2020, it is a change of pace from the Dallas name to Arlington. Many will start speculating as to why the league went in this direction, but nothing has been told so far.
The venues of the teams were also announced after the town hall with a press release sharing seven of the eight stadiums. Choctaw Stadium (Arlington, TX), TDECU Stadium (Houston, TX), Lumen Field (Seattle, WA), The Dome (St. Louis, MO), and Audi Field (Washington D.C.) are the venues hosting XFL games again. New venues include Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas will host XFL games for the first time. Las Vegas is the only team that didn’t announce a location as one will be told at a later date.
One of the biggest questions that came from fans was regarding team names and logos. During the Q&A session of the town hall, one of the fans asked if the Arlington team was going to be named the Renegades again or if they will get a new name. Garcia, The Rock, and XFL president Russ Brandon did not answer the question as Garcia expressed that they didn’t want to give all the info out at once. She did hint that an announcement for team names and logos could be coming out in the next few weeks.
2023 XFL Ticket Announcments
Fans were excited to get the news that as of after the town hall, season tickets were available to be purchased on the website.
You can now secure your seats to Tomorrow’s League today.
Individual and group #XFL2023 ticket deposits are available, starting at $50.
Requirements for the tickets are to deposit $50 that will secure season tickets, group experiences, or suite nights. Perks to getting season tickets include:
Savings off single-game ticket price
Opportunity to purchase same seats for playoffs
Exclusive Season Ticket Member Experiences
20% Discount XFL Shop
Access to purchase annual team fan merchandise kit
There was a table located at Texas Live! where fans could go and make their deposits at the location or do it online on the league’s website. Reid Johnson of The Markcast shared on Twitter that 2020 season ticket holders will get priority on picking their seats for the 2023 season.
Another question asked at the Q&A was when the XFL Draft was going to happen. Brandon responded with the date being in the range of mid-November. No specific date was given as he said they are finalizing the time and date to be announced at a later date.
One interesting note came from Garcia hinting that the location of the draft could be closer than fans think. This could lead to many speculating that the location of the draft could be in Arlington where the XFL is going to set up shop. It could be guessed that the draft is going to be located either at Choctaw Stadium or possibly at Texas Live! again and make it another event for fans to attend.
Fans should expect more news to come out regarding the draft as they wait on hearing about specific information. The draft pool needs to be announced still after the final player showcase was completed in Arlington Sunday. Plenty on the draft is still unknown, but fans will be ready in mid-November to find out who will be on the roster for each of the eight teams.
The XFL’s Interaction with Fans
One of the coolest moments was seeing the event’s MC and ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge encouraging the fans to do XFL fans throughout the event. This was one of the many signs throughout the town hall that showed that the fans mean everything to the owners and the league.
XFL super fan Van Hurst also received a special shoutout by Rutledge and the coaching panel during one of the sessions. It was a moment that most fans in leagues wouldn’t ever experience. This is the personal touch that fans can expect for years to come as this is a league for the fans.
Arguably the best moment of the night was the last fan question where a fan brought up it was National Tequila Day and wanted to raise a glass of Teremana Tequila to honor the leagues. The Rock has a bottle with glasses as he pours Garcia, Brandon, and Rutledge some of his signature tequila as the crowd joined them for a sip to end the night. If this doesn’t show the symbolism of the league and what their vision is, I don’t know what else could.
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Anthony Miller is a credential reporter and writer for XFL NewsHub. Anthony writes about the NFL, specifically the Philadelphia Eagles. Follow Anthony on Twitter @ByAnthonyMiller.
