ST. LOUIS — St. Louis will see the return of XFL excitement in February when the Battlehawks kickoff their 2023 season.
Professional football returned to St. Louis with the XFL in 2020, generating significant fanfare and raucous crowds in their inaugural season, but the success was toppled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was called off in March due to the pandemic, and the XFL suspended operations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April.
Since then, a new ownership group, led by Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital Partners, purchased the XFL and had announced plans to revive the league in 2022.
Now, the St. Louis football team is back, along with seven other XFL teams: the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, Seattle Sea Dragons and Vegas Vipers.
Earlier this month, the league finalized the coaching and football operations staff for each of the eight teams.
For the Battlehawks, Anthony Becht was named head coach.
“We cannot wait to get out there and get after it," Becht said in a statement. "The Battlehawks are ready to bring football greatness back to our city and make you all proud. We will see you repping Blue and Gray at The Dome! Ka Kaw!”
The team will play in front of fans starting next year at The Dome at America's Center. Tickets for the XFL games will start at $25 a piece. Ticket deposits for 2023 season are now available to reserve season tickets, group experiences and suite rentals.
Battlehawks merchandise will be available at the XFL Shop starting at 11 a.m. Monday.
There are some other options if you are looking for football gear.
"The first thing I did was switch on my phone on social media and see the news that they were keeping the team name, and I thought that was so great," Arch Apparel owner Aaron Park said of the consistent branding.
Park's streetwear shop was prepared for the announcement, running new prints of the Battlehawks-themed shirts that became huge sellers in 2020.
"I never anticipated Arch Apparel to be a sports clothing brand, but in St. Louis, it is the fabric of this city," he said. "We all rally around those things, so naturally we fall into it."
Similarly, Series Six was prepared with a defensive strategy: lean into the Battlehawks history with shirts that read "back for battle," hoping owners would keep the brand yet still appropriate should there be a name change.
"I mean people absolutely went all in on battle hawks a couple of years ago," Director of Art and Retail Sarah Hummel said.
Hummel said they stopped printing Battlehawks paraphernalia when the XFL announced that COVID ran out the clock on their season... and their league. But even well after the stadium went dark, people were still calling and looking for Battlehawks merch.
"They were fans of the team regardless of whether they were playing or not," she said, adding "people surprised us."
The XFL Draft will take place in November.
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