In another bid to lure a professional sports team to Birmingham, City Council President William Parker on Monday said he hopes Legion Field can be the home of an XFL franchise after the league changed owners on Monday.
In a Medium post, Parker called for a meeting with the new owners of the twice-failed football league, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Over the years, we’ve worked hard to position Birmingham as a sports destination,” Parker said in the post. “By having the XFL at Legion Field, we’d be able to keep major sporting events at the historic stadium year round since the league plays in the spring. I will be reaching out to the leadership at the XFL to schedule meetings in which we can discuss the ways that both the league and Birmingham can mutually benefit from this exciting new venture.”
Parker could not be reached for comment.
An ownership group consisting of actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, businesswoman Dany Garcia and Red Bird Capital Partners announced on Monday that they agreed to acquire the XFL from WWE CEO Vince McMahon for $15 million.
“For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility” Garcia said in a statement. “Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built. Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love.”
The XFL, an alternative to the NFL that took inspiration from McMahon’s professional wrestling company, first folded in its inaugural season in 2001 due to low ratings. The second iteration of the league, which began play earlier this year, had initially strong viewership that declined in subsequent weeks, with the pandemic eventually forcing the XFL to fold.
The XFL-to-Birmingham scenario marks the second time Parker has tried to find a home for a professional sports team in the city.
In February 2019, the council president tried to get the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to play home games at Legion Field after the city of Oakland filed an antitrust lawsuit against the franchise.