Houston Lands New XFL Franchise With Kickoff In Spring 2020

HOUSTON, TX — In case you haven't heard, the XFL is making a come back and has announced the first 8 franchises that will take the field in 2020, and Houston is one of those cities. The Houston XFL franchise will pay its inaugural game at the University of Houston's TDECU stadium.

Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority, couldn’t be more excited that Houston was chosen to have an XFL team.

“It’s certainly another feather in our cap,’’ she said. “We’re hosting so many great events in the near future and now to have another professional team just underscores what a great sports city we are.

You may be scratching your head thinking you've heard this catchy name many moons ago, and it's because you have.

In 2001, the XFL made its debut under the auspices of league co-founder Vince McMahon, formerly of the World Wrestling Federation — now known as World Wrestling Entertainment and NBC. The old XFL was one and done, and there is hope that the new XFL will be better than its former self.

XFL Commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck made the site announcements in New York Wednesday morning. Luck is a familiar face from his playing days with the Houston Oilers and as the former CEO of the Houston Sports Authority.

The new XFL is owned by Alpha Entertainment, which is owned by McMahon, will have eight teams again, including Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Washington DC.

All of those teams, except St. Louis, have an NFL franchise. The inaugural season will kick off in February 2020 with an expected eight-game season.

UH Vice President for Athletics Chris Pezman was hired just as the WWE announced it was relaunching the league. Knowing how influential the WWE is in sports and entertainment, Pezman jumped on the chance to put in a proposal as a host site.

“For us, we’re trying to be as creative as possible monetizing the investments we made in our facilities on campus, which have been significant,’’ said Pezman. “We were very actively pursuing the opportunity in all aspects.”

Pezman also knows Luck extremely well. They lived in the same area when Pezman, a former UH football player, was UH’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for Facilities and Luck was CEO of the Houston Sports Authority.

“He’s someone I look up to in this business. He brings a huge amount of credibility to the league. You combine the media power that the WWE has and with them relaunching the league and then with a football person who understands the game and understands our market. We had to do everything we could to get it,’’ Pezman said.

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Image: Courtesy/Harris County Houston Sports Authority: Pictured are Janis Burke, Chris Pezman, Oliver Luck, David Taglia, and Chris Massey announcing Houston's XFL Franchise

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