It was previously reported that officials from Vince McMahon’s XFL have reached out to the city of Orlando about possibly being one of the host cities for the XFL when it returns in 2020.
It was said by Vince McMahon himself that the XFL and the WWE would be separate entities and that there would be no connection whatsoever with either companies but Allen Johnson, Executive Director of Orlando’s venues, confirmed to the Sentinel that John Saboor, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Special Events, was the one who recently reached out about the city of Orlando being one of the host cities for the XFL when it returns.
“We were told that there is preliminary, high-level interest in Orlando and they would get back to us at a later date,” Johnson said. “They did mention in the call that they were aware of the other league (the Alliance) and felt that the Orlando market could support two teams.”
Johnson also noted that the city has often received phone calls about pro football teams possibly coming to Orlando over the years but they are excited about the reincarnation of Vince McMahon’s XFL because usually the discussions don’t get past the early conversations. Orlando officials also knows that Vince McMahon has the cash flow to make a league happen, plus they recognize the success he has had with various events, including two major WrestleMania shows.
“We’re always excited about events that we can add to the great variety of events that we already have at Camping World Stadium,” Johnson said about Vince possibly bringing a team to the home of WrestleMania 24 and WrestleMania 33. “The XFL would be a welcome addition.”
As early as now, the possibility of the city of Orlando being host to one of the teams of the new XFL is already causing some drama as the Alliance of American Football (AAF) announced last month that they will be putting one of their new teams in the University of Central Florida’s Spectrum Stadium. Legendary coach Steve Spurrier of the Florida Gators will be coaching the AAF Orlando team. To get an idea of how the drama has already been elevated in the headlines, the Sentinel asked if we might see “Vince McMahon vs. Steve Spurrier in a Loser-Leave-Town match for Orlando’s Heavyweight Championship of Professional Football” soon.
As previously reported, Vince McMahon’s target of bringing the XFL back is on January 2020 while the AAF plans to launch in February 2019.
