On Wednesday afternoon, the XFL 2020 presented its official press conference to let everyone know the team cities and their respective stadiums. New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy kicked things off from Meadowlands and wished sincere thoughts and prayers towards the late George Bush. He mentioned Vince McMahon, Oliver Luck, and all of the representatives for the XFL. As expected, he announced the eight host sites for the XFL's 2020 season.

XFL to improve the game

After the governor praised the WWE brand and the upcoming WrestleMania which is being hosted at the Meadowlands in 2019, he introduced WWE's, Vince McMahon.

McMahon mentioned the idea of creating a different product than they had years ago. He said that the weekend after the Super Bowl (February 8th and 9th) will be the official XFL kickoff. The idea is for a reimagined football product that will play games in the spring.

XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck was next to the podium as the man behind it all. He said that Doug Flutie, Jim Caldwell, and other football coaches or staff helped them figure out ways to modify the game to make it better for fans.

The XFL committee focused on four major areas. One is speed, by making a more efficient game time.

Another is improving meaningful infield action (rule changes on punts, kickoffs, extra points and game clock). Another area of focus is to improve the in-game rhythm flow (elimination of timeouts and simplifying rules) Also of focus will be improving player safety through an extensive health and wellness program. Luck also mentioned the XFL ticket prices are expected to be significantly lower than other major sports cost.

There will also be a state-of-the-art XFL app to keep everyone connected. That includes fans, players, and other personnel. Competitive salaries will be installed for the players and staff.

XFL staff, players, coaches info

Oliver Luck announced former Bills GM Doug Whaley is senior president of XFL operations. Roxanne Cozarcki is the XFL's general counsel, former counsel for Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Partnership with Optimum Scouting to uncover "hidden player talent." Team presidents are being decided as are the head coaches (who will also be GMs for teams). Positions will be filled in the first quarter of 2019.

Luck brought up former football star Doug Flutie (who has helped on the XFL committee) as a player who had a lot of potential but didn't quite survive in the NFL. He said that's the case annually with the NFL and 100s of players don't make it. There will be scouting, mini-camps, try-outs, and drafts to get players for the eight XFL teams.

There will be an XFL draft and a Summer of 2019 will be a supplemental draft. Gambling will be a part of the sport, as Luck said they are looking at opportunities to allow fans to participate in bets with the XFL.

He said they expect by 2020 many more states will have legalized gambling.

XFL team cities and stadiums

As mentioned for the XFL press conference, all eight cities and host venues were revealed. New York will have an XFL team playing at Met Life stadium. That's the host venue for WrestleMania 35 in April 2019, so it's very likely there will be some XFL involvement by then with the WWE event. It won't be quite the same as in 2001 when the brand was closely tied to WWE, but some cross-promotion seems likely.

Dallas will also have a new XFL team playing their games at Globe Life Park, while Houston will get a team with games at TDECU Stadium.

Los Angeles will get a team at the StubHub Center. All eight team locations and their stadiums are below.

  • Dallas - Globe Life Park
  • Houston - TDECU Stadium
  • Los Angeles - Stubhub Center
  • New York - MetLife stadium
  • St. Louis - The Dome at America's Center
  • Seattle - Centurylink Field
  • Tampa Bay - Raymond Jones
  • Washington, DC - Audi Field

Season tickets are already available at XFL.com/tickets section of the website. Fans can put down a $50 deposit to get their season tickets for the inaugural XFL season. It's certainly an exciting day as football fans will now have another brand of their favorite game to look forward to in 2020!
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