USFL announces a third hub city for its 2023 season
The USFL has announced a third host city for its 2023 season with Canton, Ohio, joining Birmingham and Memphis as hubs in the spring football league’s second campaign.
On Wednesday, the USFL announced the Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals would be based at Canton’s Hall of Fame Village this season, and the Ohio city’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium also will host the league’s championship game for the second year in a row.
The North Division playoff game also will be played at Tom Benson Stadium this summer.
“The USFL is excited that the Pittsburgh Maulers and the New Jersey Generals will practice and play games in Canton during the 2023 regular season,” said Daryl Johnston, the USFL’s executive vice president of football operations, in a release from the league. “The outstanding regional support we received during our first postseason from football fans in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the great city of Pittsburgh, coupled with our successful partnership with the Hall of Fame Village, led to this moment.”
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The USFL played its entire 40-game regular season in Birmingham last year, and the Alabama city’s Protective Stadium will remain the home base for the defending champion Birmingham Stallions and the New Orleans Breakers in 2023.
The league also earlier assigned the Memphis Showboats, who played as the Tampa Bay Bandits last year, and the Houston Gamblers to Memphis, where they will play their home games at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Wednesday’s announcement leaves the Michigan Panthers and the Philadelphia Stars as the only USFL teams that have not been assigned to a hub for the 2023 season.
The USFL has an announcement scheduled at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, when it is expected the Panthers and Stars will be assigned to the Michigan city as a fourth hub for the 2023 campaign.
The USFL has not announced its schedule for the 2023 season, but the league’s second campaign is expected to kick off on April 15.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.