The USFL Expands to Memphis, Canton, and Detroit for Season 2
Now that the Jaguars are out of the playoffs, the NFL season is pretty much over for me and we are moving on to Spring Football.
This year will be season 2 for the USFL and we've got some exciting updates. Last year, all regular season games were played in Birmingham, Alabama with the playoffs and championship game played in Canton, Ohio. This year, the USFL is expanding from one hub city to four.
Birmingham, AL (Protective Stadium)
The original hub city will remain the home of the inaugural champions Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers.
Memphis, TN (Liberty Stadium)
A new city and new team. Memphis becomes the second hub city for the USFL and will host the Houston Gamblers and Memphis Showboats. The Showboats replace the Tampa Bay Bandits team, which has gone dormant for season 2. The Showboats are using the name of the 1980's USFL team that featured Reggie White and wrestler Lex Luger, but have an updated logo and color scheme.
Canton, Ohio (Hall of Fame Stadium)
Home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and now the Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals. Along with the new home, Pittsburgh has changed their color scheme to black and gold to match the other Pittsburgh teams and replaced Head Coach Kirby Wilson with Super Bowl winning player and coach, Ray Horton. You may remember Coach Kirby as the coach who released a player for not eating chicken salad.
The Bandits played the Maulers the week after this aired and used "Chicken Salad" as a call.
Detroit, MI (Ford Field)
Ford Field, an actual NFL stadium, will host the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars. This will be the second venue the Detroit Lions and Michigan Panthers have shared. Both teams played in the Pontiac Silverdome in the 80's.
It's great seeing the USFL expand into more hub cities. The choice of cities show that they are both optimistic and realistic about the league and where it can grow. It looks like they truly have long term plans for the league and will be successful IF spring football can be sustained.