St. Louis BattleHawks Have Introductory Night at Riverbender Community Center, Begin Action This Weekend

ALTON – In just a few weeks, the St. Louis BattleHawks hope to bring a great show to the same location that housed the Greatest Show on Turf.

The BattleHawks, one of eight new teams to kick off the new XFL, will begin play in Dallas Feb. 9. Two weeks later, they play their home opener against the New York Guardians in the Dome at America’s Center.

“The Rams colors and logos are gone, but we’ll be playing on the same turf,” said Andrew Meyer, Ticket Sales and Experience Manager for the BattleHawks. “The jumbotron is still there and the ribbons around the stadium. We’ll be using all of that.”

Meyer was at the Riverbender Community Center Friday night for a red carpet event in which fans could view uniforms and helmets, visit with front office staff and grab some BattleHawks gear.

“We’re excited about it,” said Godfrey’s Gary Elliott, one of the fans who attended the event with his 9-year-old son Ethan. “We love football; college football, any football. We’re just fans of football.”

Elliott was lucky enough to win two tickets to a BattleHawks regular season game. Trey Skelton won the BattleHawks poster autographed by all 52 members of the roster.

St. Louis, one of four teams in the XFL East division, will play a 10-week regular-season schedule with five games in The Dome and five games on the road. Joining the BattleHawks in the XFL East are the DC Defenders, New York Guardians, and Tampa Bay Vipers. The XFL West features the Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Seattle Dragons. St. Louis, in addition to home and away games against their division foes, the BattleHawks will host Los Angeles and Seattle and travel to Dallas and Houston.

“Every XFL game will air live on national television,” Meyer said. “In the regular season, four games are scheduled each week, typically with two back-to-back games on both Saturdays and Sundays. The XFL schedule also features two primetime Thursday night games in the final weeks of the regular season.”

St. Louis is scheduled to play three games on ESPN, three on FOX, two on FS1 and one on FS2, with their last game airing on either ESPN or FS1. The BattleHawks will play on Sunday the first three weeks of the season and six times overall. St. Louis will play on Saturday four times and will not appear in either Thursday night game.

Following the regular season, the top two teams in each division will square off for the right to play for the league championship.

“Our season ends the week of the NFL Draft,” Meyer said. “We expect to lose a number of players on draft day and we’ll be happy for them.”

The XFL bills itself as a fan-friendly league which promises to deliver a professional sports experience that’s affordable and accessible.

“We get our fans close to the game in fun and imaginative ways,” Meyer said. “Our league continues to invite fans to be a part of the growing conversation. Plus, the XFL will offer gameday experiences that will get fans inside with their new teams.”

Meyer said some new features will be helmet cams for players and on-field, post-play interviews. “When someone throws an interception or fumbles, we’ll have someone right there asking them what they saw or did before they get to the sidelines.”

The league also has some new rules intended to speed up play and make the game more strategic.

“The in-game experience will be fantastic,” Meyer said. “Our fans will be right on top of the action.”

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