ST. LOUIS- As the XFL teases news of more “big announcements” coming this week about the spring football league’s return to play in 2023, St. Louis still doesn’t know if it will play host to a franchise.
The league, which was interrupted by the onset of the pandemic in 2020, quickly found a fan following in St. Louis with league-leading attendance. Under the new ownership of Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson, the league has slowly teased how it will return to life with eight teams starting next February. There have been a series of announcements of various partnerships, league front office personnel and head coaching hires, with no news on where they will be coaching.
They have left fans and prospective host cities to interpret breadcrumb-like hints left in “hype videos” posted by Johnson and Garcia on social media.
When asked Tuesday if she knew if St. Louis was in or out of those plans, Kathleen “Kitty Ratcliffe, President of Explore St. Louis said the league continues to talk with them.
“They’re talking to us and they’re very interested in us and we’re just kind of waiting for them to make a decision on the league. It’s not just St. Louis, it’s putting all those cities together. We’re holding space for them, we’re holding dates for them and we’re hopeful that they’ll be able to put up a good league with a good package of cities and announce soon,” Ratcliffe told Spectrum News.
League officials did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday. Earlier this month, the league announced it would hold showcase events for prospective players in June and July at locations in six states—Mississippi, Maryland, Hawaii, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
“We are excited to kick off this showcase series and begin opening more doors for aspiring football players across the entire country,” Garcia said in a statement released May 5. “Our intentional showcase locations, such as Jackson State, one of the largest HBCUs in the country, and our Hawai’i Showcase in Honolulu, are direct reflections of our XFL core values of diversity, inclusivity and accessibility. As an organization and league we will continue to push the boundaries and unlock new opportunities to advance the game of football.”