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St. Louis Battlehawks

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St. Louis BattleHawks
Team logo
Established2018; 7 years ago (2018)
Based inSt. Louis, Missouri
Home stadiumThe Dome at America's Center
Head coachAnthony Becht
General managerAnthony Becht
Owner(s)Alpha Acquico, LLC[1]
LeagueXFL
DivisionEast (2020)
North (2023–present)
ColorsRoyal, white, grey, navy[2]
       
Websitexfl.com/teams/st-louis
Current sports event 2023 St. Louis BattleHawks season

The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The BattleHawks play their home games at The Dome at America's Center.

History

File:St. Louis BattleHawks logo.png
Logo from 2020 season, retained with minor adjustments for 2023

McMahon Era (2020)

On December 5, 2018, St. Louis was announced as one of eight cities that would join the newly reformed XFL, as well as Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, DC, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.[3] On April 18, 2019, the team hired Jonathan Hayes, who most recently was tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, as their first head coach. Hayes is an alumnus of the University of Iowa.[4] The team name and logo were revealed on August 21, 2019, as well as the team’s uniforms on December 3, 2019.[5]

On October 15, 2019, The BattleHawks announced their first player in team history, being assigned former Ole Miss Rebels Quarterback Jordan Ta'amu.[6]

The BattleHawks won their first game in team history on February 8, 2020, defeating the Dallas Renegades 15-9. On March 12, 2020, The XFL announced that the remainder of the 2020 XFL season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished with a 3-2 record. On April 10, 2020, The XFL suspended operations, with all employees, players and staff terminated.[7]

Johnson and Garcia Era (2023–present)

Steven Mitchell carries the ball for the BattleHawks during a 2023 game against the DC Defenders

On August 3, 2020, it was reported that a consortium led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (through Cardinale's fund RedBird Capital Partners) purchased the XFL for $15 million just hours before an auction could take place; the purchase received court approval on August 7, 2020.[8][9] The XFL hired Anthony Becht as a Head Coach on April 13, 2022, with the expectation that he would be coaching the St. Louis team.[10] On July 24, 2022, the return of a St. Louis XFL franchise was confirmed, as well as the hiring of Anthony Becht.[11] On October 31, 2022, The XFL officially announced that the BattleHawks name would be returning, with the logo having slight alterations.

Market overview

During the 2020 season, the BattleHawks were the only XFL team that was founded in a market that lacked a current National Football League franchise. St. Louis hosted NFL football in 1923 with the All-Stars, 1934 with the Gunners, 1960 to 1987 with the Football Cardinals, and again from 1995 to 2015 with the Rams, which moved to Los Angeles in the 2016 season. There is a significant negative sentiment against the NFL in St. Louis,[12] as the owners of the Cardinals and Rams moved to other markets, with the Cardinals saying that the city and county governments of St. Louis declined to provide an adequate new stadium and the Rams saying in a latter that the Dome at America's Center was unacceptable and rejecting the offer of a new stadium in the market in favor of relocating back to Los Angeles. As St. Louis was one of the most recent cities to lose an NFL team, with acceptable facilities by XFL standards, the dome was seen as a good choice.

St. Louis has hosted one alternative professional football team: the Arena Football League's St. Louis Stampede of 1995 and 1996. None of the major alternative outdoor leagues of the late 20th and early 21st centuries had a team there. Some indoor football teams have played at Family Arena in suburban St. Charles, Missouri, including the RiverCity Rage and River City Raiders. Until Lindenwood University (located in St. Charles) joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022, St. Louis had also been devoid of NCAA Division I football at both the FBS and FCS levels since 1949, when the Saint Louis University Billikens dropped football as an intercollegiate sport; the nearest FBS football squad, the Missouri Tigers, play in Columbia.

The St. Louis BattleHawks share the Missouri winter sports market with one other major professional team, the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues, and with the Billikens', Lions' and Tigers' college basketball teams. In the spring the BattleHawks share the pro sports market with Major League Soccer's St Louis City SC and the always well-supported Major League Baseball St Louis Cardinals.

The Dome at America's Center was built for a future National Football League expansion team or relocation and as an addition to the adjoining St. Louis Convention Center. In 1995, the under construction dome lured the Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis. After the Rams left in 2016, the Dome continued to host a plethora of other events, enough that the stadium was unable to host a team in the former Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season.[13] The XFL rented the Dome for $800,000 per season (a $300,000 flat fee plus $100,000 for each game) in exchange for keeping all of the revenue from ticket sales; the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission keeps concession and parking revenue.[14] As part of the agreement to return in 2023, the XFL signed a three-year lease on the Dome with similar terms to its 2020 lease.[15] For XFL games, the Dome has a reduced capacity, similar to the San Antonio Brahmas use of the Alamodome and the Orlando Guardians at Camping World Stadium.[16] After two consecutive sellouts of the lower bowl, city officials began planning to open up some sections of the upper decks to accommodate more fans while still maintaining the up-close intimate atmosphere the league seeks.[17] This carried over into the 2023 season, with an estimated 35,000 tickets sold for the team's March 11 home opener and the upper decks of the dome being opened to accommodate the high demand.[18] The game drew an XFL record 38,310 attendance, eclipsing the previous record St. Louis set in 2020 and record of 38,253 set by the San Francisco Demons of the original XFL in 2001.[19]

The BattleHawks lead the league in followers on Twitter, Instagram, and in fan attendance.[20][21] The St. Louis media market led the nation in television viewership for the opening week, posting a 7.4 Nielsen rating for the BattleHawks' first game.[22] Fans often chanted “Kroenke Sucks” to express distaste for Stan Kroenke, the former owner of the St. Louis Rams, who controversially returned the team to Los Angeles, California following the 2015 NFL season.

Staff

St. Louis BattleHawks staff
Front office
  • Director of team operations – Anastasia Ali
  • Director of player personnel – Dave Boller
Head coach
Offensive coaches
  
Defensive coaches
Team operations
  • Athletic Trainer – Eric Avila
  • Equipment Manager – Todd Hewitt
  • Video Manager – Sean Hollister

Players

Current roster

Template:XFL roster

Player, staff and coach history

Year Coach GC W L Win% Notes
2020 Jonathan Hayes 5 3 2 .600
2023–present Anthony Becht 6 4 2 .666

Offensive Coordinator history

Year Coach GC W L Win% Notes
2020 Doug Meacham - - - - Resigned prior to the 2020 season
2020 Chuck Long 5 3 2 .600
2023–present Bruce Gradkowski 6 4 2 .666

Defensive Coordinator history

Year Coach GC W L Win% Notes
2020 Jay Hayes 5 3 2 .600
2023–present Donnie Abraham 6 4 2 .666

Notable former players

Current notable players

References

  1. ^ Perry, Mark (August 3, 2020). "More Details On The Rock Purchase Of The XFL, How Many Bidders". XFL News Hub. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  2. ^ "St. Louis BattleHawks' uniforms, helmet". XFL.com (Press release). December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/12/05/xfl-picks-houston-as-an-inaugural-city-announces.html. Retrieved 2023-02-04. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Smith, Michael David (2019-04-18). "XFL hires Jonathan Hayes as St. Louis head coach". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  5. ^ Spedden, Zach (2019-08-21). "XFL Team Names and Logos Unveiled". Football Stadium Digest. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  6. ^ Florio, Mike (2019-10-15). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  7. ^ composer., Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Symphonie Nr. 5 c-Moll = Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67. OCLC 994793754.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "THE ROCK BUYS THE XFL FOR $15 MILLION". RingsideNews.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Kerr, Jeff (August 2, 2020). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson buys XFL for $15 million with partners RedBird Capital and Dany Garcia". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "XFL Announces Head Coaches: Reggie Barlow, Anthony Becht, Terrell Buckley, Jim Haslett, Wade Phillips, Bob Stoops, Hines Ward and Rod Woodson". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  11. ^ "XFL UNVEILS TEAM MARKETS AND VENUES: ARLINGTON, HOUSTON, ORLANDO, LAS VEGAS, SAN ANTONIO, SEATTLE, ST. LOUIS, WASHINGTON D.C." www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  12. ^ "If Corrupt NFL Wants the Chargers In STL, Here Are Our Terms: Pay Up, For Everything". 101Sports.com. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  13. ^ June 21; 2018. "St. Louis Left Out As AAF City With Dome Unavailable For Games". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-02-15. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "FOX2 obtains agreement between XFL, St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission". FOX2now.com. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  15. ^ Rubbelke, Nathan (August 1, 2022). "As XFL returns to St. Louis, its rent for The Dome won't change". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  16. ^ St. Louis BattleHawks [@XFLBattleHawks] (2019-10-08). "Season ticket information is out 👀 Start making your plans now #ClearedToEngage #STLBornAndRaised More details here: https://t.co/OzTegnZpc0 https://t.co/Fr4SF964Jm" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2021-01-19 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "St. Louis Battlehawks looking to add seats". www.audacy.com. March 1, 2020.
  18. ^ "Battlehawks open up 400-level tickets to fill the Dome". FOX 2. 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  19. ^ Gould, Andrew (March 12, 2023). "Look: Football World Reacts To The XFL Attendance News". TheSpun.com. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  20. ^ Fulk, Konnor. "XFL Momentum: Social Media, A Look At The Numbers". XFLNewsHub. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  21. ^ Barrabi, Thomas. "XFL attendance on the rise through 3 weeks". FOX Business. FOXBusiness.
  22. ^ Caesar, Dan. "St. Louis draws XFL's best TV rating in the nation". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
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