The XFL said it has reached a three year agreement with Arlington to set up its operations hub in the city. The hub will include a performance facility, practice and training facilities and a content creation operation.
Arlington, Houston and San Antonio will have three of the XFL's eight franchises when play begins in February of 2023. The Arlington and Houston clubs will practice at Choctaw Stadium during the week.
All eight teams will also practice at high school stadiums in North Texas: Northwest ISD Stadium in Justin, Southlake-Carroll ISD's Dragon Stadium and Mansfield ISD's Vernon Newsom Stadium.
"You come to the table, and you hope there is a good amount of ambition that will meet you halfway and see the vision you have," said XFL Owner Dwayne Johnson. "It's really been across the board that Arlington, around every corner, has met us halfway."
At the XFL Hub, Johnson said a content generation staff will work on fan engagement and tell stories about the league and its owners.
During the week, players will stay at hotels in North Texas, and the NFL says meals will be provided by local restaurants.
"It's not just game-day economic development. It's an ongoing month-after-month type of thing during the season," said Mayor Jim Ross. "All the players are here, practicing here. Everybody's eating in our restaurants. Everybody's staying in our hotels. We get a lot of economic development."
Ross said Arlington will now be home to six professional sports organizations: the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball, the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, the WNBA's Dallas Wings, the Dallas Jackals in Major League Rugby and the ESports Stadium.
In addition, he said $1 billion in development is underway in the city.
"That's exciting," said Ross. "Nobody else can be saying that kind of stuff."
This is the XFL's third attempt to form a professional football league starting after the end of the NFL season. The organization was launched in 2001 and re-launched in 2020, but operations were suspended because of the pandemic.
"This is not a one-off event," Johnson said. "We're looking to really building something with the City of Arlington and, overall, in the great State of Texas with three football teams"
"We're really good at relationships," Ross said. "It's the reason the Rangers came here 50 years ago and never left. It's the reason all the sports franchises are coming here. It's because we know how to treat people."
The XFL Hub will "serve as an around-the-clock content engine, offering behind-the-scenes story-telling of the league, its players and its owners. Allowing the League to experiment with different kinds of engagement – traditional media, podcasts, social media – will drive fan interest while also elevating the story and individual brands of players"
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