USFL plans 'special announcement' at Ford Field on Thursday with Detroit Mayor, Fox exec
All signs point to USFL football returning to the state of Michigan.
For real, this time.
The United States Football League, rebooted last year for the first time in three decades, has scheduled a "special announcement" at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, for 11 a.m. Thursday. Among those scheduled to attend are Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks.
Fox is one of the co-owners of the USFL, the eight-team league that kicked off last year and technically doesn't have an affiliation to the pro football league that had a short yet popular stint from 1983-86. The inaugural season was played in Birmingham, Alabama, and its postseason in Canton, Ohio. Shanks told the Sports Business Journal that the 2023 iteration would feature the same eight teams but would be played in multiple cities, though not in all eight home sites.
One of the charter franchises of both the original USFL and this new version is the Michigan Panthers. In the 80s, the Panthers, winners of the league's first championship, played home games at the Pontiac Silverdome, then-home of the Lions.
Last season, the Panthers finished the 10-game season 2-8. Each weekend featured four games league-wide on either a Fox- or NBC-owned platform. Training camp is schedule for sometime in March.
In November, the USFL announced it would play games in Memphis, Tennessee, home of the Showboats and, for the 2023 season, the Houston Gamblers. The Showboats are replacing the Tampa Bay Bandits in the league.
The other teams in the North Division of the USFL are the Pittsburgh Maulers, Philadelphia Stars and New Jersey Generals. The South is comprised of the Showboats, Gamblers, Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers.
This spring will also feature the third attempt by the XFL, the once-WWE-owned football league that had ill-fated seasons in 2001 and 2020. This time, though, the league, owned by pro wrestler-turned-A-list actor Dwayne Johnson, seems to be taking a no-nonsense approach to the game and its role in developing players for the NFL. That eight-team league does not have a team in Michigan.
Detroit is schedule to host several other high profile sporting events in the coming years. In 2024, the NFL draft will emanate from downtown. In 2027, the men's basketball NCAA tournament will culminate at Ford Field with the Final Four and national championship game.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: USFL to have 'special announcement' at Ford Field on Thursday
