XFL Championship Reportedly To Take Place At The Alamodome

As the XFL season quickly approaches, more news continues to make its way through the cycle. The latest bit comes from our very own Michael Lathrop, who reveals that the XFL Championship is likely to be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

I’m hearing the #XFL Championship game will be held at The Alamodome.#XFL2023 #ForTheLoveOfFootball

— Michael Lathrop 🏈 🎙 (@XFLMike) January 9, 2023

This would make sense, given the circumstances. The XFL Championship is going to be played on May 13th, 2023. Now, it would be wise to assume that the Championship would have been played in Arlington – where the XFL’s centralized hub is located.

However, Major League Rugby has a game on May 13th between the Dallas Jackals and Old Glory DC. This game will take place at Choctaw Stadium. Due to this, the league has to look elsewhere.

San Antonio would serve as an excellent host city, whether or not the San Antonio Brahmas make it to the Championship. Texas loves their football. With a capacity of 72,000 people, it gives the XFL plenty of room to work with.

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Location Officially Revealed

Royal Rumble 2023 will be held in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday 28 January, per an official WWE press release.

PWInsider and Fightful had previously reported San Antonio as the frontrunner for the premium live event, which is typically one of the year’s biggest. Currently, the Rumble looks like being WWE’s second PLE of 2023, with Day 1 taking place on 1 January.

This will be the third time WWE has held the Royal Rumble in San Antonio’s Alamodome, with the 1997 and 2017 shows taking place in the 60,525-capacity arena.

Royal Rumble 2023 tickets go on sale on Friday 30 September.

See below for WWE’s complete press release.

SAN ANTONIO TO HOST 2023 ROYAL RUMBLE®

STAMFORD, Conn., September 7, 2022 – San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the Alamodome and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) are proud to announce that the Alamodome in San Antonio will host Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 28, 2023. This marks the fourth time that Royal Rumble has been held in San Antonio and the third time the event has been hosted at the Alamodome.

Tickets for Royal Rumble will go on sale Friday, September 30 at 10 AM CT via Ticketmaster. To learn more about registering for presale opportunities, please visit https://www.wwe.com/royalrumble-presale-2023.

In addition, Royal Rumble Priority Passes will be available this Friday, September 9 at 12 Noon ET before tickets go on sale to the general public through official Priority Pass hospitality provider On Location. Royal Rumble Priority Passes provide fans with unrivaled access to WWE like never before through immersive VIP experiences that include premier seating, a dedicated stadium entrance, premium hospitality offerings and meet and greets with WWE Superstars and Legends. To purchase packages and learn more about presale opportunities, please visit www.onlocationexp.com/wwe/royal-rumble-tickets or call 1-855-346-7388.

“We are thrilled to bring back one of WWE’s most exciting events of the year to San Antonio,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “Royal Rumble will bring tens of thousands of WWE fans from around the world to the Alamodome, bringing both an incredible economic boost to our beautiful city and community outreach events that will give back in a multitude of ways.”

“WWE is honored that Royal Rumble will serve as one of the cornerstones of the Alamodome’s 30th Anniversary celebration,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John P. Saboor. “We are thankful to Mayor Nirenberg, Steve Zito and the entire staff at the Alamodome who were essential in making this historic return to San Antonio possible.”

Royal Rumble will stream live at 8 pm ET exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else. The event will be headlined by two 30-men and 30-women Royal Rumble matches, with the winners of both receiving a Championship match opportunity at WrestleMania in Los Angeles.

XFL Finalizes 2023 Season Kickoff Plans, Which Don’t Include L.A. Or New York

The XFL, the spring pro football league fronted by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, took a big step toward finalizing its plans Sunday with a press conference that revealed the cities, venues and head coaches for its upcoming 2023 season.

The regular season is set to kick off February 18, 2023 with eight teams. Those include in newly announced cities — Las Vegas, Orlando and San Antonio — which are replacing existing teams in Los Angeles, New York and Tampa, FL. ESPN says those were the three cities with the lowest turnout in 2020, the league’s most recent season, which was halted midway through because of the Covid pandemic.

Two other XFL teams on the 2023 slate reside in Texas (Arlington and Houston), with other franchises in Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

All 43 XFL games will air on Disney platforms in a carriage deal announced in May by Garcia, the league’s chairwoman and owner, and her movie and TV producing partner Johnson, after the duo with RedBird Capitol Partners acquired the league for $15 million from Vince McMahon in 2020 after it had started bankruptcy proceedings.

McMahon originally bankrolled the return of the league, which he resurrected after a 20-year absence. It had played just one season previously, in 2001, as joint venture between McMahon’s WWF (now the WWE) and NBC.

This year’s games will air on Disney platforms ABC, ESPN and FX.

“We’ve had a clear vision for the XFL – the values to instill, the diversity of our leaders, the innovation of the game and how we want to deeply engage with our communities so they can help bring this vision to life. Today, our league takes another step closer to 2023 kickoff as we officially announce where our teams will play,” Garcia said today during a press conference livestreamed on the XFL’s YouTube channel. “What brings a league to life is the passion of the fandom behind it. In each of these cities we will co-create with our fans and build these teams from the ground up so that they represent the unique fabric of our communities. We welcome all football fans to join us as we get ready for kickoff in February.”

Along with the cities, the league revealed its head coaching assignments with most names familiar to football fans: former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops (Arlington), Wade Phillips (Houston), Terrell Buckley (Orlando), Rod Woodson (Las Vegas), Hines Ward (San Antonio), Jim Haslett (Seattle), Anthony Becht (St. Louis) and Reggie Barlow (Washington, DC).

Said Johnson, who was coming off his appearance at Warner Bros’ Black Adam panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, added: “I’m psyched to reveal the cities that our players will have the chance to represent and compete in. This is another massive moment for the XFL, and I’m ready to feel the electricity our dedicated fans will bring to these iconic venues.

“There is great energy building within our league and there is still much more to come… and I can promise it’s going to be worth the wait. We have been working on fresh, new logos and uniforms – even working with some of the team names you already know – that will match the dynamic and innovative vision of our league. We see you, we hear you and your excitement fuels us to continue to bring you the absolute best. We have just under seven months until kickoff and the countdown is officially on.”

Trio of Texas cities among sites for XFL teams

The XFL has cemented the cities it will play in upon its return to play in 2023 and assigned coaches to the teams, Pro Football Network reported Sunday.

XFL teams are set for three Texas cities — Houston, Dallas and San Antonio — as well as Seattle, Las Vegas, Orlando, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

The XFL named the coaches in April and still have not officially announced the cities. The league also has not confirmed where each coach will be assigned.

Per Pro Football Network, Wade Phillips is heading home to Houston, where he went to college and once was an assistant coach with the NFL’s Texans. He also was the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys.

Joining him in Texas are former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who will lead the Dallas team, and Super Bowl-winning wide receiver Hines Ward, who will be the head coach in San Antonio.

Stoops was the head coach of the Dallas Renegades in the XFL in 2020 before it ended the season prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett will coach the Seattle team.

The four other teams will be led by first-time head coaches at the pro level: Reggie Barlow in Washington, D.C., Pro Football Hall of Fame member Rod Woodson in Las Vegas, Terrell Buckley in Orlando and Anthony Becht in St. Louis.

Ward also is a first-time head coach.

The rebooted XFL is scheduled to begin play Feb. 18, 2023, less than a week after the NFL plays Super Bowl LVII at Phoenix.

Rumors Swirling That San Antonio Will Be Home To Newest XFL Franchise

The XFL is rising from the ashes and is reportedly eyeing San Antonio as home to a franchise.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch said Friday that Head Football Coach Reggie Barlow resigned from his position at Virginia State University to take the job in San Antonio.

Barlow coached at VSU for six years with an overall record of 34-16. He previously played in the NFL for five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, one season with the Oakland Raiders and two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (including one Super Bowl win in 2003).

The XFL has not confirmed what cities will be represented on the 2023 roster, nor has the City of San Antonio weighed in.

The football league filed for bankruptcy after suspending games five weeks into the 2020 season over the global COVID-19 pandemic. The XFL was acquired later that year by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners for $15 million.

“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things – my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” Johnson said in October 2020. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”

San Antonio was famously home to the Commanders in the Alliance of American Football League. The Commanders reportedly pulled in more than 27,000 fans per game at the Alamodome before the AAF went under eight weeks into the inaugural season.

San Antonio mayor vows an NFL franchise within 10 years

London isn’t the only market hoping to land an NFL franchise.

San Antonio, which openly flirted with the Raiders before Mark Davis struck a deal to move the team to Las Vegas, remains in the mix. Or so thinks it’s mayor, Ron Nirenberg.

“You will see an NFL team in San Antonio in the next 10 years,” Nirenberg recently told KSAT-TV.

Nirenberg seems to believe that an NFL team would play in the Alamodome and not a new stadium.

“[One] of the great features and one of the great strengths is that we have a publicly owned stadium, a facility that is ready for almost any professional sports event under the sun,” Nirenberg.

The fact the Alamodome hosted a handful of Saints games in 2005, after a hurricane ravaged New Orleans, doesn’t make it an attractive location for an NFL team’s permanent residence at some point before 2028. Moreover, it’s unlikely that the Texans or Cowboys would take kindly to another NFL team crowding the Houston and Dallas markets.

So San Antonio remains a long shot to land an NFL team, far longer than cities like St. Louis, San Diego, and London.

MLS chief Garber announces expansion plans for 25th, 26th teams

MLS commissioner Don Garber revealed plans for the next round of expansion Thursday, declaring an intention to announce the league’s 25th and 26th sides during the second or third quarter of 2017.

With Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC slated to join the ranks next season, and Miami and Los Angeles FC set to make their debuts for the 2018 campaign, the North American top flight is poised to grow to 24 clubs.

Garber fancies two more, with Thursday’s announcement confirming a $150-million expansion fee for prospective clubs, and that the two teams will join the league for the 2020 season, according to MLSSoccer.com.

“There is tremendous interest in professional soccer across the United States and Canada,” said Garber. “Since announcing plans to expand to 28 clubs late last year, many potential ownership groups have contacted us, and numerous public officials have stated their desire to bring an MLS expansion team to their city.

“We look forward to reviewing expansion applications in the coming months and conducting formal meetings in 2017 with possible team owners.”

Garber first announced in December plans to expand the league to 28 teams, with Thursday’s announcement both specifying a time frame and the ten cities interested in an expansion side.

Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, and Tampa/St. Petersburg have all expressed an interest in joining MLS.

Applications must be submitted by Jan. 31, 2017.

The statement also revealed that aspiring teams must submit documentation focusing on three criteria: ownership, stadium, and financial projections. Considering that, the three key aspects for candidates, as listed on the league’s website, are:

• A committed local ownership group that has a passion for the sport, a deep belief in Major League Soccer and the resources to invest in the infrastructure to build the sport in their respective market.
• A market that has a history of strong fan support for soccer matches and other sporting events, is located in a desirable geographic location and is attractive to corporate sponsors and television partners.
• A comprehensive stadium plan that ensures the club will have a proper home for their fans and players while also serving as a destination for the sport in the community.

The MLS expansion committee is comprised of ownership representatives from the New England Revolution, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Orlando City SC, and Philadelphia Union.

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 To Be Held In San Antonio, Texas

WWE sources have finally confirmed this morning that the 2017 Royal Rumble pay-per-view will be held in San Antonio, Texas. An official announcement is yet to be made, but it is expected the WWE will make the information public within the coming week, and a specific venue is still be confirmed.

This will be the third time WWE have taken their trademark January show to San Antonio, with the city playing host to the 1997 and 2007 Rumbles.

Bolstered by WWE’s affiliation with Mexico’s AAA, the ’97 Rumble featured a host of lauded Mexican talents like Mil Mascaras and Hector Garza. Steve Austin took advantage of a referee distraction to cheat Bret Hart out of victory in the Rumble itself, while the night’s main event saw hometown hero Shawn Michaels capture Sycho Sid’s WWE Championship in front of 60,000 fans.

Details on the 2017 Royal Rumble’s participants remain scarce, but it’ll be a dual-brand PPV with the 30-man Rumble likely comprising of 15 wrestlers from Raw, and 15 from SmackDown. The winner, of course, will go on to challenge for the WWE Universal or World Championship at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.

Garber: MLS eyes 28 teams, including Sacramento, St. Louis

MLS commissioner Don Garber said Sacramento and St. Louis are expansion “front-runners” as the league sets its sights on expanding to 28 teams.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Garber revealed the priority order for expansion teams, with St. Louis and Sacramento set for franchises 25 and 26 respectively. Afterward, Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin, and Cincinnati would be in consideration, in that order, for the remaining two franchises.

“We believe it’s a 28-team league and not further than that,” Garber said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s hard to see where this all goes.”

The league identified a target of 24 franchises by 2020, which will be met when David Beckham’s Miami franchise finalizes its plans for entry into MLS. The league, currently at 20 teams, is also awaiting the entrances of Atlanta United, Minnesota FC, and Los Angeles FC.

Garber said Beckham’s franchise is still on track, adding he’s “confident and bullish” the English icon can secure a privately-funded stadium in Florida.

“It’s gonna happen … If it doesn’t happen, it would surprise me that we weren’t able to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s,” Garber said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to finalize their investment group … So the issue we’ve been dealing with today is finalizing their equity. I think it’s going to be finalized soon.”

Ex-Vikings owner Red McCombs wants Raiders in San Antonio

The Oakland Raiders were unable to relocate to Los Angeles, but a contingency plan could be in the works.

Former Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs is pushing for the Raiders to relocate to San Antonio, where he resides. McCombs spoke to Raiders owner Mark Davis after it was revealed that the Raiders wouldn’t be able to move to Los Angeles for the 2016 campaign.

“What happened (Tuesday) in Houston was absolutely the greatest thing that could happen to us short of getting somebody committed to come in here, because that cleared the runway to where now he can make his decision and go anywhere he wants to,” McCombs told ESPN San Antonio.

McCombs owned the Vikings from 1998-2005, selling the club to Zygi Wilf for a reported $600 million.

The 88-year-old said that he’d be willing to invest in the club, and alluded to possibly funding a stadium, one of the main points of contention in the Raiders’ original relocation bid.

“We would be happy to be investors if that what he wants,” McCombs said. “We have investors lined up if that what he wants. If he wants to keep it all to himself, that’s OK too.”

Although it appears unlikely that the Raiders would move any time soon, it’s a possibility the league may need to consider if McCombs can coax Davis with his financial resources.