Oh The Places They Could Go

Ever since Vince McMahon took the stage to announce that the XFL would be coming back the most popular topic among fans and observers has been predicting where teams will play. On every fan site, Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or anywhere thXFL is discussed you’ll see fans hoping their hometown team stay in 2022 or presenting their case for why their city deserves a team.

In this article we will examine what the XFL ought to do both if the league partners with the Canadian Football or it doesn’t. None of the Canadian teams will be relocated or change stadiums. They will simply be used as magnets for cities the XFL could possibly expand to. For reference, a map of the CFL landscape is below, as well as a list of teams in each division:

West:

• BC Lions
• Calgary Stampeders
• Edmonton Football Team (yes they have one as well)
• Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Winnipeg Blue Bombers

East:

• Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• Montreal Alouettes
• Ottawa Redblacks
• Toronto Argonauts

https://sportleaguemaps.com/football/cfl/

To start we will detail each XFL team that should stay in their current city and stadium for the time being.

Do Not Relocate

Easiest team to name, the St. Louis Battlehawks. This team and their fans were the absolute gold standard of what the XFL could’ve wanted to accomplish, and then some. Their fans had the largest social media numbers, ticket sales, merchandise, and overall passion. They were rejected by the NFL, they embraced the XFL and turned all that Kronke rage and channelled it into the most raucous and fun filled gameday environment. Never leave St. Louis XFL!! There are suggestions that the team move from the Dome at America’s Center when the new St. Louis MLS stadium is built. Take advantage of the newer amenities, a design to maximize crowd noise, and take advantage of the intimate nature of the stadium; each seat will be within 120 feet of the field.

The next XFL team that must stay is the Seattle Dragons. The Emerald City is known as the home of the 12th man, yet they were a second choice that turned into gold. Many reports say that the original plan was for a team to play in Oracle Park in San Francisco. However, the rent was deemed to be too high and scheduling with the beginning of the San Francisco Giants season was deemed too problematic. After that, the league set its sights on Lumen Field. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Nearly 30,000 people walked through the gates for their home opener, and another 22,000 for their next home game. Formula is simple, don’t move!

This takes us to the team that everyone was picking to win it all. The Houston Roughnecks, led by clear NFL caliber QB PJ Walker, were a team that saw their home attendance not only hold steady, but increase as the season went on. Being undefeated and appearing to be unstoppable with Walker and June Jones at the helm, they were declared de facto champions when play was suspended. With solid attendance and the impression of being reigning champs, the Roughnecks should have no issues developing excitement amongst fans. Just get that trademark battle with the No Fun League resolved.

The most viral image of the XFL’s cult fan base comes from our nation’s capital. Hail the Beer Snake!! Also got an important clip that showed how different and special this league was. That was when Commissioner Oliver Luck contributed to the cause. The DC Defenders might have played in the smallest XFL stadium, Audi Field, but they were atop the East Division and their fanbase was passionate and engaged. There are challenges in this market due to colder weather and having to fight against two NFL fanbases, but they have earned the right to keep their team.

Next is simply a formality, but I think the XFL should leave Los Angeles. Plain and simple, the league is there because television networks have required alternative leagues to field teams in New York and Los Angeles to secure television coverage without brokering the airtime. They should leave, but they won’t, unfortunately.

Stay, But Find a New Stadium

Now we will move onto the New York Guardians. This team had some of the lowest attendance in the league, and played in MetLife Stadium which was simply waaaaay too big and expensive. Many suggested that the team ought to be moved to another market, but that’s not too likely. The simple reason is TV money. Chairwoman Dani Garcia has stated that the XFL will NOT be giving away their TV product for free. A potential partnership with the CFL adds to that promise. The one caveat for this team finding success is to flee MetLife like it’s burning to the ground. The lucky thing is that there are several viable choices not far away. The obvious first choice is Red Bull Arena in Newark. WIth 25,000 seats it’s in line with normal XFL attendance, and there are mass transit options to get fans there. Another choice could be Yankee Stadium, but this one if not likely. The league wants an intimate fan experience, and a baseball stadium prevents that. Plus the Yankees will always have scheduling priority so this adds another headache the league doesn’t need. Columbia University’s stadium, with its ~17,000 capacity, could be considered. This stadium most likely lacks the amenities and press facilities the league would want though. The next, and probably only remaining viable choice, is SHI Stadium, home of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. Located away from the immediate NYC metro area, this could present an added bonus of being closer to Philadelphia. The stadium’s capacity of 52,000 is also not too astronomical, and could involve a familiar move of closing off the upper deck to keep fans close to the action. With Rutgers University training facilities and a unique opportunity to co-brand, and no spring tenant to be fighting with over dates, it offers a viable alternative to RBA or MetLife. Either way, the XFL going forward needs to keep a team in the area to grab the TV and sponsorship money.

Need to Relocate

I don’t want to place the Dallas Renegades here, but there are several valid reasons to. First off, Dallas is all about the Cowboys, don’t try and compete with them, it’s a plain losing effort. Not only that, but the city has pro sports year round. During the existing XFL season they would have to compete with already existing fan bases for the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars, then the Texas Rangers at seasons end. There will always be competition, and it will be tough to carve a niche there. I’ll get into the specifics later on, but San Antonio is ripe for a team to call their own. Attendance was kinda decent, but could’ve been much better. Definitely keep the team name and logo, it’s plain badass. Watching the game on TV the crowds didn’t seem overall excited about the games. Two teams should be in Texas, but Dallas isn’t the best fit.

The Tampa Bay Vipers make me hesitate to put them in this category, but it keeps coming back to thinking that there are greener pastures elsewhere. They not only have to compete with snowbirds, MLB spring training, USF collegiate sports, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on top of the Tamba Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowls and National Championship games. Too much in season competition, and by the time the XFL season would start, might be a little bit of football burnout. While the Vipers started strong with a crowd of 18,000 at their first home game, their second game hosted barely 12,000.

Final Result of Current XFL Teams

Six teams stay, but two would be better served if they move elsewhere. But where will they go? Below we will go over several candidates and what they could bring to both the XFL & CFL. Some cities will be based on which season the leagues could play in (early spring, late spring, summer, etc). Some are major cities, some aren’t, but each has something to offer.

San Diego — Proposed team name, “Admirals”

San Diego is an ideal candidate for several reasons. Not only do they offer a favorable climate for any time of year, they can benefit from what I call the “Kroenke Effect”. This term I use to describe a fanbase who has lost their team out of greed and will fanatically support a new team. We saw this with the St. Louis Battlehawks, we saw it with Baltimore in the 12 years between the Colts and the Ravens. Evidence of this has already been shown with the Alliance of American Football. Crowds at 3 of 4 SD Fleet home games topped 20,000 fans. San Diego seems to be a prime candidate. Plus, San Diego State University is building a brand new stadium! Aztec Stadium is scheduled to open for the 2022 college football season, with a capacity of 35,000 fans. Playing in a brand new stadium with a capacity that is on part with regular attendance in a market that offers the Kroenke Effect seems to be a no brainer. To all you former Chargers Faithful out there, there’s reason for hope!

Oakland — Proposed team name, “Rebellion”

Let’s keep it going with another betrayed NFL fan base, and arguably the most rabid. Oakland without the Raiders is a sad reality for professional football. This however offers another chance to take advantage of the Kroenke Effect. Placing a team in Oakland would provide Raider Nation an opportunity to show that Oakland is still a rabid football town. The only real handicap for Oakland would be a feasible stadium. With the Athletics looking to get a new stadium, the future of the Oakland Coliseum is up in the air. Most likely results involve it being demolished. The best place to put a team would be in Berkley at Cal’s Memorial Stadium. Being a single bowl with a capacity of 64,000 might be a bit of a turnoff. If anything, potentially tarp off sections with prominently featured advertisements. I’ve also been told apparently that Berkeley has some rule against professional teams or something; can’t find any documentation of it anywhere. If you know this to be true please let me know. Nonetheless, the sense of abandonment by Raiders fans needs to be tapped into and embraced. Who wouldn’t want the black hole to be back?! Lets goooo!!!

Greater San Francisco Bay Area — Proposed team name, “Demons”

The opportunities in Northern California are unique because they aren’t limited to Oakland. Throughout the Bay Area are many stadium options. As we mentioned before, the XFL inquired about placing a team in Oracle Park in downtown SF. That plan ultimately fell through and resulted in the Seattle Dragons coming into existence. The however doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another team around the Bay City. Also another benefit is how many stadiums they would have to select from. This includes Levi’s Stadium (68,500 capacity), Stanford Stadium (50,424), Avaya Stadium (18,000), and San Jose State University’s football stadium CEFCU Stadium (21,520). And yes the proposed name is a tribute to the city’s original XFL franchise.

Sacramento — Proposed team name, “Seekers”

Another possibility in Northern California if Oakland or the SF Bay don’t work out is the capital of California. Would also give a bit of a hat tip to the CFL’s history. The first team in the league’s attempt to crack the USA market in the early 1990’s was the Sacramento Gold Miners. This would be contingent on a Major League Soccer team coming to town and the XFL continuing on with their trend of calling MLS stadiums home. IN Sacramento this is easier said than done at the moment. The city had been awarded a MLS expansion franchise and stadium construction had been all ready to break ground. Due to Covid however, one of their main investors pulled out of the ownership group and now the franchise is in jeopardy. Let’s wait and see what happens. Surely the possibility of an XFL franchise must create some appeal from potential investors.

This is a bit of a backup plan, but Sacramento has a history of wanting to attract pro sports. They wanted to get a MLB team years ago, and had a stadium site all picked out next to Sleep Train Arena. Today it has become more or a pond than a new stadium, but the effort was there haha.

San Antonio — Proposed team name, “Friars”

San Antonio is a city that should be given the first right of refusal for an XFL team. Not only is the Alamodome a perfect venue, it is a world class facility for many sports, and can also fit a CFL field. The Alamo City was home to an AAF team, the Commanders, who arguably were the league’s flagship team for attendance. The team drew an average of approximately 27,720 fans to each home game, and were by far the best-attended team in the AAF. I’ve been to San Antonio before, and it’s a beautiful city that is hopping! A great culture and setting that the XFL should definitely become part of!

Orlando — Proposed team name, “Dream”

It would make sense for Florida to host an XFL team due to their great spring climate and sports culture (outside of MLB haha). Tampa was given the opportunity with the XFL, sadly the fans just didn’t seem to respond. With the Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl and Tom Brady being in town, the challenge just got incredibly harder. Meanwhile, the AAF’s Orlando Apollos were declared the “Honorary Champions” of the lone AAF season, and solidly averaged 20,000 fans a game. A team could choose between playing in Exploria Stadium (home of Orlando City SC) or Camping World Stadium. The deciding factor would be between the stadium’s capacities, Exploria Stadium holds 25,500, and Camping World Stadium 60,000+. Either would work, just hope the league doesn’t bite off more than it can chew.

Cities to Consider Solely Due to a Potential CFL Partnership

We are staying away from the M word at the moment. Lets approach any type of CFL and XFL collaboration as a “partnership”. I’m inclined to think that the CFL and its ownership will want to keep their autonomy and freedom to run their business as they see fit. Also there’s a lot of legal minutiae that can only be explained by a professional. However it turns out, the fact that having 9 new teams in a long standing successful professional league creates opportunities in cities that might have been left out if the XFL kept to itself in the United States. We will now look at several cities that make sense if some type of agreement is made with the CFL. Playing season will certainly be part of determining how fit these cities are for being part of the new XFL.

I would be good to have more teams in the midwest, and preferably the Great Lakes region. Some cities that jump out include Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit. Detroit has Ford Field, which with its dome, can host a team in just about any season. A challenge could be the scale of the venue, as well as the shrinking population and corporate footprint in the area. Minneapolis is also a good choice with its proximity to many CFL cities and wide selection of stadiums. This goes from US Bank Stadium (home of the Vikings) to University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium to MLS’s Allianz Field. I would ick TCF Bank Stadium so the league wouldn’t have to compete with other tenants, can take advantage of the student body, have easy access to the downtown area, and the capacity is easily manageable. Chicago would be the obvious choice for many, and I cannot disagree. The stadium choices include Soldier Field, Northwestern’s Ryan Field, and Seatgeek Stadium. It’s my opinion that Seatgeek Stadium would be better since it has been built for and left by Chicago Fire FC, has a capacity of only 20,000, and not many other tenants to fight off.

Syracuse, New York is a city that would probably get looked over, but there are many things that would make them a good choice if there’s a deal made with the CFL. FIrst off, the Carrier Dome is indoors, making it appropriate regardless of when the season is played. The capacity is also 49,000, which even lower bowl wouldn’t be impossible to fill up. Syracuse University has also been investing a lot to update the stadium with new video boards and, alas, an AC system. They also have built an indoor practice facility, and have Manley Field House. Syracuse has a metro population of 663,000 people. While that might not jump out, upstate New York has many other cities within easy driving distance of each other. These include Albany (1,170,000 people), Utica/Rome (298,000), Binghamton, (251,000), Rochester (1,082,000), Buffalo (1,130,000), and Ithaca (104,000). All of these cities are also within less than a 2 hour drive of Syracuse. ON top of that, the drive from many CFL cities isn’t that far either. Opens up the opportunity for fans of both teams to travel to different venues. With the passionate support of the Buffalo Bills, and continuing that fandom on for a few more months would be an offer many people would find very tempting. Upstate NY also has a storied history of minor league sports. Having a team to call their own would be welcomed by many people. A good team name would be the Central New York Express. Make it upstate NY’s team, NYC already has plenty.

Fargo, North Dakota would also never be on the radar for 99 of 100 people, but hear me out on this one. North Dakota State University has become a powerhouse in college football. Many people have said they should be moved up into the Big 12 conference. Their fans also have tremendous passion, with the Fargodome reaching noise levels as high as 115 decibels. The Fargodome is also an ideal size for the XFL with 18,700 seats. Fargo is also not far from many CFL teams in western Canada. Having a professional sports team in their state would probably be a major point of pride for many North Dakotans. While the Fargo metro population is only 246,000 people, would be the feel good city of the XFL. Suggested team names could be the North Dakota Pikes or Fargo Nakotas.

Teams As a Distant Maybe

Won’t go into much detail but cities that might (a big might) be a fit include Austin, Boston, Birmingham, Raleigh, Oklahoma City, & Philadelphia. These cities would only work if there’s rousing success for the league, if they play in the proper season, or if a team relocates and really wants to test a new market.

Markets That Are An Easy No

Again, won’t go into specifics, but cities that should immediately be taken off the list are Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, Portland, Miami, Kansas City, and anywhere in Ohio. This can all be attributed to proven shortcomings in spring leagues, weather & stadium limitations, or market saturation.

Final Thoughts

Who knows if any of this even works out. Who knows if anything comes out of these discussions. Who knows if the leagues even survive long enough to expand. Either way it’s a blast to speculate and to plan. The pandemic forced so many to change their ways and simply sit and wait for normalcy to return. When it does, I think people are going to think big and go for those things that make them feel alive! No matter what comes out of all this, it’s up to the fan to get out there and support our teams to be sure they stay and these big dreams of ours and league management can become a reality. There’s strength in numbers, and two countries working together creates a mighty alliance.

James is a contributor to The Sports Throne in the areas of Major League Baseball, the XFL, and college football, mostly in opinion articles. He’s a graduate of Clemson University, graduating in 2014. Follow his Instagram and Twitter below.

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