Audi Field will not be available to XFL DC for the playoffs

Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
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Tank55
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Audi Field will not be available to XFL DC for the playoffs

Post by Tank55 »

So reports Washington Post soccer guru Steven Goff:
XFL games at Audi Field this winter/spring are now set: Feb. 8 and 15, March 8, 15 and 28.

MLS season starts end of February.

XFL will pay for new grass when its season ends.
If the DC XFL team advances to playoffs in April, Audi Field is off-limits.
https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/statu ... 9648960512

Very unfortunate news, but such is life for a non-primary tenant. Championship game still could be neutral site, so perhaps no harm, no foul there. Should DC win the East, I'd think Navy and Maryland's football stadiums would be at the top of the list for backup plans if attendance is strong. If not, maybe Howard's stadium? I don't think FedEx or RFK are viable.

Regardless, here's hoping it's a problem they need to solve.
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MikeMitchell
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Re: Audi Field will not be available to XFL DC for the playoffs

Post by MikeMitchell »

Tank55 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:04 pm So reports Washington Post soccer guru Steven Goff:
XFL games at Audi Field this winter/spring are now set: Feb. 8 and 15, March 8, 15 and 28.

MLS season starts end of February.

XFL will pay for new grass when its season ends.
If the DC XFL team advances to playoffs in April, Audi Field is off-limits.
https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/statu ... 9648960512

Very unfortunate news, but such is life for a non-primary tenant. Championship game still could be neutral site, so perhaps no harm, no foul there. Should DC win the East, I'd think Navy and Maryland's football stadiums would be at the top of the list for backup plans if attendance is strong. If not, maybe Howard's stadium? I don't think FedEx or RFK are viable.

Regardless, here's hoping it's a problem they need to solve.
Yes. It is a problem. Your locations make sense though. Howard would be awesome because of the Pep Hamilton but it's such a small venue. 10k, capacity, I believe. Isn't RFK being demolished? Call me crazy but I always liked that stadium. Your choices in Maryland are good. Navy has a very good football stadium. Good size too. 34K. It could work. Maryland has one of the better play surfaces in the country.
Tank55
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Re: Audi Field will not be available to XFL DC for the playoffs

Post by Tank55 »

RFK is going to be demolished; I don't know if staging another game there is a possibility or not. I doubt it, and the city has already said goodbye, so I don't think there would even be the nostalgia bump you might have gotten a few years ago.

Maryland probably makes the most sense, although I know other sports entities in similar circumstances have shied away from it because beer sales are prohibited. It does have a bit of an alternative football pedigree, as it served as the home field of the 1985 USFL Champion Baltimore Stars.
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Tank55
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Re: Audi Field will not be available to XFL DC for the playoffs

Post by Tank55 »

Not hard information, but the same reporter "[doubts the Defenders] have a secondary venue lined up."

https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/statu ... 7126396929
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