Houston looks to be one of new league’s franchise cities

Houston will be announced next week as one of eight franchise cities for the revived XFL, according to a list posted briefly on the league’s website.

Houston will join Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, Tampa, New York and St. Louis as host cities for the new football league, which will begin play in February 2020.

The XFL, which is owned by WWE chairman Vince McMahon, is scheduled to unveil its eight charter cities at a Wednesday news conference at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

However, a list of franchise cities that included Houston was posted on the league’s website before being removed. An image of the post was captured by WrestleZone, a wrestling-related website that reproduced the information Saturday.

The league had no comment on the reported list of host cities.

No mascots or coaches have been announced for any of the XFL teams, all of which will be owned by McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment. Oliver Luck, the former Oilers quarterback, Dynamo executive and executive director of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, is the league’s commissioner and CEO.

The XFL’s arrival in Houston will mark the first time the city has had two professional 11-man football teams since the Oilers and the USFL’s Gamblers shared the Astrodome in 1984-85.

The new XFL will be the league’s second incarnation. McMahon and NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol founded the original XFL in 2001, but the league lasted only one season before folding.

The new XFL, league officials have said, aims to offer an alternative to fans disenchanted with the increased length of NFL games and the social activism of some of its players. Games will last under three hours, and the league has said that anthem protests will not be allowed.