By Michael Heilman

The XFL has now reached the midway point of the regular season. Through four weeks, the XFL has had good numbers in fan attendance and television ratings. But can they do better?

XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck was interview by Bob Williams of Sports Business, discussing that both Los Angeles and New York crowds need to improve. What was the most interesting part of the conversation was Luck saying, “XFL executives will re-examine team venues at the end of the season to determine if the facilities chosen are appropriate sizes in regards to the attendances generated.”

Currently, the New York Guardians play at MetLife Stadium, home of both the New York Giants and New York Jets. MetLife Stadium’s seating capacity is 82,500 and way too big for an XFL team right now. So far, the Guardians are averaging 14,875 fans at MetLife Stadium. As for Los Angeles, the Wildcats play at Dignity Health Sports Park located on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills and its home of the MLS club Los Angeles Galaxy and USL Championship club Los Angeles Galaxy II. The stadium seating capacity is 27,000, but there are plans to increase the stadium to 30,000.

It makes sense for some teams to relocate to different stadiums like the Guardians. The other XFL teams that play in huge stadiums are the Seattle Dragons, Tampa Bay Vipers, and the St. Louis BattleHawks. For the Vipers and BattleHawks, there are no alternative stadiums for them to relocate too. The St. Louis BattleHawks is an exception since The Dome at America’s Center, which has a seating capacity of 67,277, was once home to the NFL’s St. Louis Rams before relocating to Los Angeles after the 2015 season. The BattleHawks have had a solid crowd averaging 28,541 a game, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The Vipers don’t have options as Raymond James Stadium is the only football stadium in the Tampa area. Right now, the Vipers are averaging 15,183. If they can put a good winning streak going, there is a chance that attendance could increase.

The Seattle Dragons are the last team to play in an NFL stadium called CenturyLink Field, its seating capacity is 68,740 and is home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS Seattle Sounders FC. Like the BattleHawks, the Dragons have had great crowds for its two games, averaging 25,616 fans a game. While the Dragons have options for other stadiums, the problem is if they leave, they won’t be anywhere near downtown Seattle.

For the rest of the league, The Houston Roughnecks play at TDECU Stadium, a college football stadium home of the Houston Cougars, the DC Defenders play at Audi Field, home of the MLS DC United and the Dallas Renegades play at Globe Life Park which was home of the Texas Rangers.

Relocating teams to different stadiums is not a bad idea for the league, but it has to make sense. I think the Guardians should move to another stadium closer to New York like Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The Arena seating capacity is 25,000, and if you take the current average fans at the Guardians games of 14,875, that would be an almost packed house.

The same goes for the other teams, and I think two more teams have a chance to relocate. While I believe where the Los Angeles Wildcats are at is good, if they need to relocate, the perfect venue is Banc of California Stadium, the home of MLS LAFC. The Stadium is right next to the LA Memorial Coliseum, and the capacity for Banc of California Stadium is 22,000. Again, if you take the Wildcats average attendance of 13,595, they too would have almost a full capacity stadium.

The last team I can see relocating is the Dallas Renegades. I think in the future, both the Renegades and USL League One’s North Texas SC will want a new stadium built at the current site of Globe Life Park. If this were to occur, both teams could continue to play at Globe Life Park as there is room to build a new stadium next door. New leagues should start small and work their way up as the NFL did 100 years ago.

Remember, when the NFL started in 1920, their teams played in small stadiums in seating capacities of 10,000 or lower. Back then, people thought the NFL would not make it but look where they are now. The same thing can happen to the XFL with time, money, and patience. If the XFL can get 1/3 of the football fans to watch the games and attend the games, then they have a chance to succeed in the future. While I think the XFL will expand in the future, they must take care of the current teams they have right now.

If that means moving some of them to smaller stadiums to provide a better fan experience, then they should do it. The XFL chose these eight cities for a reason, and they will do whatever they have to do to keep them there. I think overtime fans will cling to these teams and adopt them as one of their own for the love of football.