FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8/12/2020
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In case you missed it, the XFL, founded by WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, is back for a 3rd reboot, and it has major new star power behind it. The league that failed in 2001 but, showed great promise in its most recent reincarnation, was purchased by an ownership group that includes none other than mega star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Johnson is part of a group that also includes his ex-wife, and current business manager, Dany Garcia, along with Redbird Capital.
The former XFL was forced to suspend its operations April 10thafter only 5 games due to the financial impact of the pandemic.The league was comprised of teams in 8 cities, one of those being the Los Angeles Wildcats, the team with the lowest attendance in the league, averaging only13,124 per game. As the new owners begin discussions on where teams will be located, there is speculation that San Diego could very well be a candidate for relocation or expansion. In a conversation with Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com regarding the vision for XFL 3.0, Garcia suggested that the XFL will have eight teams (and maybe in time more than that) but that the locations of the teams will be reconsidered.
“[W]e love eight teams,” Garcia said. “We love eventually having more than eight teams. I think we’ll be reviewing some of the markets as we should. There was a lot of great work that was done and was succeeding. But I think whenever you have time to reset, I think it’s a really, really important time to just reassess.” Kaplan went on to say “that other former NFL cities — like San Diego and Oakland — should be considered for franchises that would be relocated from markets that didn’t embrace their teams.” Further adding, “the plan is to continue to play in the spring, but to make it something that generates interest beyond that playing window.” With the fan support for the Chargers,and most recentlyfor the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football,there’s room for optimism that Pro Football could, once again, return to “America’s Finest City”. And, a former employee of The Fleet agrees with Kaplan that San Diego is the perfect fit for Johnson’s new league. “Although the AAF had its share of challenges, said former Fleet employee David Bowling,I saw firsthand what having Pro Football back in San Diego meant to so many people. I felt I was part of something incredibly special and, I think we can do that again. My immediate goal is to get on the radar of the new owners as soon as possible so, when team relocationor expansion is discussed, San Diego will be at the top of their list.” To expedite those efforts, Bowling has started a petition on www.xflsandiego and the Facebook page XFL San Diego to prove to the new owners the city, and it’s fans, will have their full support. No start date has been announced for the new league, however, several insiders believe it will kick-off in the Spring of 2021.
