Where Will the XFL Play in 2023? Here's What We Know So Far

Where Will the XFL Play in 2023? Here’s What We Know So Far

It’s been a long wait for the return of the XFL, and we’re just now learning about the relaunch. It wasn’t too long ago that the new ownership group revealed a new logo along with their new brand message. Then, fans were treated by the names of all eight head coaches who will be joining in 2023.

  • Anthony Becht
  • Bob Stoops
  • Hines Ward
  • Jim Haslett
  • Reggie Barlow
  • Rod Woodson
  • Terrell Buckley
  • Wade Phillips

Bob Stoops is the only head coach to return to his role, but was arguably the biggest name announced in 2020. Joining him is a mix of established names and coaches looking to move up in the ranks. As news of these names leaked, we also got some insight into where we may see the XFL place their franchises in 2023.

Let’s take a look at what we know, and don’t know, about where the XFL may play when they relaunch.

Dallas

This one seems like a no-brainer. Bob Stoops is returning to the league, so it only seems natural that the Dallas Renegades should make a return. Additionally, league execs and coaches all met in Arlington recently to discuss the new season. Where? At the former home of the Renegades in 2020. Then, XFL co-owner Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson took to social media to announce that Texas would serve as HQ for the reboot.

They say; where there’s smoke there’s fire. And in this case, there’s a lot of smoke.

Orlando

In 2020 the XFL opted to place the Vipers in Tampa Bay. This was mainly due to the AAF having already cemented Orlando as a spot for the Apollos. The AAF ultimately didn’t make it a full season, but the XFL was already settled. After the league folded in 2020 it was reported that they may be looking to move the Vipers due to poor attendance.

With the hiring of Terrell Buckley, we heard our first mention of the league heading to Orlando.

There’s no information yet on if the Orlando franchise will receive a new name or if it’ll be carried over from the 2001 or 2020 iteration.

Orlando has a rich history of hosting spring football leagues, and we think that this move is a good one for the new ownership group. Tampa Bay failed to pack the house for the XFL in 2020, Orlando could be the change they need to be successful.

San Antonio

In 2020 there was one team to beat, the Houston Roughnecks. After bankruptcy, trademarks for both of the Roughnecks logos were disputed and have ultimately went dead. Does this means the Roughnecks are no more, no but they would need to get a new design in place.

Another situation the new ownership group finds themselves in is the relaunched USFL currently planning on moving the Gamblers to Houston.

Texas is a big state, and it seems that the league may have a backup plan. When news first started making the rounds that Reggie Barlow would be joining the league, it was said that he was coming on as head coach of a new San Antonio franchise.

San Antonio is another city that’s seen their fair share of spring football leagues, and has been clamoring the bring another in. Will the XFL move Houston to San Antonio, or may we see three teams based out of the lone star state? It’s possible, especially when you add in the fact that TX is the HQ in 2023.

Seattle

The next city on the list performed well for the XFL in 2020. The Seattle Dragons we’re among the leaders in attendance, trailing only to the St. Louis BattleHawks. If you were hoping to see the league return to the northwest, it seems that you may be in luck. Last week former Roughnecks head coach June Jones updated his Twitter bio, in which he stated that he was rejoining the XFL as offensive coordinator for Jim Haslett in Seattle.

This update alone gave us a lot of information. First, June Jones was making a comeback. Second, the XFL will return to Seattle and that Jim Haslett is the person tapped to get the job done.

The attendance factor alone should have made this an easy decision for the new ownership group. With June Jones heading to Seattle, this may also give further confirmation that the Roughnecks may not be returning in 2023. Although Seattle seems like it’s a go, we’ll need to wait until it’s official to learn if the Dragons moniker is coming back with it.

St. Louis

Unlike the previous locations, there’s no coach drop or insider news to go off of. But… we think it’s a no-brainer for the new XFL ownership group to try and make a return to St. Louis. In 2020 there was one city that fully embraced the XFL from the very start; St. Louis. This is mainly because they were the only location that didn’t also home an NFL franchise.

The BattleHawks were on target to bring in over 50,000 people to their week 7 matchup against the Los Angeles Wildcats. Unfortunately, due to COVID, week 7 never came. We’ve heard reports that St. Louis officials have reached out to the league and both parties have spoken. Beyond that, there’s not much to lean on. Should the XFL return to St. Louis? YES! Will they? We’ll just need to wait and see.

What Else?

UPDATE: We’ve learned that TDECU Stadium is set to host the XFL in 2023, marking the return to Houston. It’s still unclear if the league plans to use the Roughnecks moniker, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

It’s also been rumored that the XFL may land in Las Vegas again, but there’s not much information circulating on that front. This could make for an interesting choice for the league. Back in 2001, The Las Vegas Outlaws hosted the first XFL game, with none other that current XFL co-owner The Rock coming out to kickoff the game. It would be a perfect opportunity for the league to capitalize off of nostalgia if they were to recreate that moment in 2023.

With the shakeup in cities, we’ve been told that new team names are coming as well. What hasn’t been specified is if the league is going to rebrand all eight teams or just the one relocating. We’ve heard rumors that we may see a mix of old and new, including some of the names from the 2001 iteration. Could we see a return of the Las Vegas Outlaws and Orlando Rage?

Near the end of 2021, The Rock said that new team names and cities would be announced early in the new year. We’re now five months in and we haven’t heard anything official. That being said, now that all head coaches have been revealed we expect that it should be dropping soon.

Where would you like to see the XFL relocate in 2023? Which cities should stay put? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.

Owner/Editor XFL Newsroom
  1. Chicago!! Bring back the enforcers!!! The Bears are gonna be leaving solder field. XFL would be a perfect fit! Chicago loves football! And at this point. We really could use a winning football team in this town!

  2. Someone should look at Omaha, NE, Sacramento, CA and Hartford, CT as potential locations for XFL teams – good moves to get to Orlando and San Antonio

  3. A San Diego team makes the most sense. The new XFL team will play at the new Snapdragon Stadium that opens later this year.

  4. Let’s see,

    Dallas – If true, good luck on NOT being Dallas Texans 2.0! I would have gone to Oklahoma City instead.

    Orlando – First off, it’s Orlando RAGE, not Renegades (old USFL name currently being used by XFL Dallas). And yes, try to acquire the Apollos name as that one was better than Rage oddly enough.

    San Antonio – Well, forget Commanders now that Washington D.C. has it unless you want another 1970’s Denver Rockets, Houston Rockets basketball situation. Personally, I say call the team the OILERS! Let’s see what Nashville and Houston thinks of that!

    Seattle – If the idea is to keep travel costs down, then Seattle is a mistake no matter how much you want to capitalize on the Seahawks going backwards. Utah would keep the gas mileage down.

    St. Louis – 99.9% done deal. Plus, we can’t let the USFL beat you to it.

    Rumored cities,

    Washington D.C. – Well, Snyder still owns the Commanders, so there’s that. But again, if the XFL is going to keep travel costs down, then a place like Memphis would work better.

    Las Vegas – What the? Are they crazy? Do they really think they can get RAIDER fans to root for the Outlaws too?! Plus, Vegas isn’t exactly that close to Texas. Try Raleigh or Louisville (so Orlando won’t have to travel far) instead.

    Houston – Put the team in Austin instead. The USFL will no doubt relocate the Gamblers to Houston next season to counteract the XFL, and you don’t want to compete with the Gamblers. Plus, no guarantee that the magic of the 2020 Roughnecks will be repeated in 2023.

    “The Bears are gonna be leaving solder field.”

    They are working on it, but still a long way to go.

  5. Need to look at phase 2 of the XFL cinematic universe – the merger with the CFL – the CFL is cleaning things up for a merger a couple of years down the road – 4 downs, American rules, no ratio and a shift to spring summer – before you say I am crazy take a look at what is happening up north – they are going through punch list items –

    Seattle and Vegas are going to be in the west with Edmonton, Calgary and the BC Lions – Those two American markets cut down the travel for the 3 Canadian teams and instantly bring the BC lions back to life in their market – Playing American teams will instantly add juice to BC Lions – American teams playing MTL and the Argos brings them back to life instantly – The two leagues talked for 8 months – they tabled the merger because the CFL didn’t want to fight an insurrection with it’s fans for two year – The CFL just needs the XFL to get a TV deal with ESPN and NFL network as well as getting through a season –

    As far as Vegas goes the Raiders have the highest ticket prices in the NFL – it would be $800 dollars for a family of 4 to hit a single Raiders game – from my experience with the XFL in Houston – $800 would get a family of 4 into 3 or 4 games – NFL price differential is huge there are enough working class people who have been priced out of the NFL to support the XFL in Vegas – Also if the XFL is getting Sam Boyd Stadium leased to them on the cheap that would be another reason for a team in Vegas –

    As far as Houston having two teams USFL and XFL – Houston is not a city it is a region – the Houston Metro area is 3+ times the size of Austin – Houston has more than enough population to support two teams in separate leagues –

  6. The deal with UNLV using Allegiant for home games forbids them from leasing Sam Boyd to any professional football team without the expressed consent of the Las Vegas Raiders.

  7. Very disappointing I’ve been on board with the xfl since it came out the first time..but now there is no ny team I’m from jersey and I was a ny guardians fan but you guys are taking my team away I’ve been waiting for the relaunch despretly since it was said xfl was coming back I guess I’ll be sticking with the usfl league now..sorry but not a fan of your other teams.

  8. I think los Angeles would be an awesome site I had season tickets for the wildcats my son’s had a great time we were very sad when the covid hit it was awesome spending time with my son’s the game was ex exciting and the atmosphere was wild enjoyed every minute of it please come back to LA

  9. in the UFL, the Omaha Nighthawks, Hartford Colonials and Sacramento Mountain Lions all had decent attendances. So the fanbase was there then.

  10. I am a big fan of the xfl I’ve been loyal since Vince McMan try it the 1st time and here I am with it’s third try still with the xfl. Hoping it makes it.I am so sad you guys chose to remove the my NY team..maybe in a smaller venue would have created more revenue pls pls reconsider and bring back a ny or nj team.I used to go with my sons and we had an amazing and bonding time.if at all possible give us a NY OR NJ team..your loyal fan.

  11. So glad Seattle is back for the return of XFL. The games were fun and the team was popular. I hope the redone league has staying power.

  12. Huge USFL fan, but it seems the good people at Fox and NBC are doing everything they can to sabotage the reboot. I hope the XFL rollout goes better because I love the idea of spring football. In looking at placement of teams I think you have to look at a combination of generating suitable television ratings, potential attendance, competition from other sports teams, geography, and availability of suitable stadiums. I propose a 16 team league broken into 4 4-team divisions.
    West
    Sacramento-success with UFL and WLAF, good demographic, no MLB
    San Diego-large city, no NFL, no NBA, new stadium at S.D. State
    Oakland-large region, rival in Sacto, no NFL, potentially no MLB
    Los Angeles-huge TV market, multiple venues

    Midwest
    Seattle-obviously misplaced geographically (could be moved down the road), great sports town, good demographics
    Omaha-no MLB, MLS, NBA, good support in UFL
    St. Louis-no NFL, no NBA, hard to argue with what the Battlehawks did
    Chicago-huge TV market, open stadium, great football town

    South
    San Antonio-great support in WLAF, no NBA, no NFL, no MLB, no MLS, stadium in place
    Houston-stadium in place at UH, good support, rival with San Antonio, huge TV market
    Louisville-stadium in place at UL, improving demographic, no MLS, no NBA, no NFL, support for USL
    Memphis-Liberty Bowl, no NFL, no MLS, has supported previous sping efforts, larger city than many think

    East
    New Jersey-play at Rutgers?, you have to include the NY market if you are serious about drawing TV ratings
    Buffalo-stadium at UB, no NBA, no MLB, no MLS, supports Bills, has supported minor league baseball for ages
    Charlotte-large/growing metro with sizeable Carolina TV markets, no MLB
    Orlando-multiple venues, great location, support for previous spring efforts (USFL, AAF, WLAF), no MLB

  13. Ditto to “Big USFL fan”
    Cities for expansion: Portland, Omaha, OK City, San Antonio, Memphis, Mobile, Milwaukee & Orlando

  14. It does not matter what cities are chosen as sites for XFL teams in 2023. Just choose cities that have expressed interest in supporting an XFL team, and then do WHATEVER it takes to survive a FULL season. The XFL does NOT have to compete with the NFL, but somehow find a way to work as a partner with the NFL. I want to watch football all year long, so PLEASE find a way to be successful. It would create many jobs in the United States.

  15. so confusing — USFL, XFL..etc all mediocre football at best — answer is to expand the CFL into the US market

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