USFL To Hold Inaugural Playoffs At Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium In Canton
The USFL will reportedly hold its playoff games and championship in Canton, Ohio for its inaugural season in 2022.
Per Fox News Digital, the entirety of the USFL playoffs will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The 20,000 seat venue sits next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is the same field where the NFL hosts the annual Hall of Fame Game. The USFL playoffs will begin on June 25, with the top two teams from the North and South Division facing off. The USFL title game is scheduled for July 3.
"We’re excited to play our first playoffs and championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium," said USFL Executive Vice President of Business Operations Edward Hartman, in a news release Wednesday. "It’s a beautiful stadium with all the facilities necessary to host football at the highest level, and we look forward to crowning our first champion in the shadow of the Pro Football Hall of Fame."
The USFL is set for an April 16 kickoff, with eight teams split into two divisions playing a 10-game regular season schedule. All regular season games will take place in Birmingham, Alabama, with the newly minted Protective Stadium, home of University of Alabama-Birmingham football, hosting a majority of the games. The historic Legion Field, which opened its doors in 1927, will host additional games as well.
As Fox News Digital reports, a scheduling conflict is the reason that the USFL will host its playoffs at an alternative site. The 2022 World Games are scheduled to take place at the above venues in July.
Mike Levy, the Hall of Fame Village’s president of operations, said in a news release that the venue is the perfect setting to host the USFL playoffs and championship game.
"We are honored that the state-of-the-art Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium was selected as the destination for the USFL’s 2022 playoffs," Levy said. "Our facility and campus will provide the perfect setting and backdrop for the USFL’s inaugural playoffs and championships, offering fans and guests visiting our destination multiple opportunities to be engaged at the birthplace of professional football.
"The games allow our Company to not only share a great event but to showcase the Village with attendees and participants who will also stay at our destination and enjoy our many other entertainment opportunities. We are excited to highlight all that the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls has to offer to the USFL audience."
A player selection meeting will take place Feb. 22-23, with each team carrying a 38-man roster and a seven-man practice squad. Once rosters are finalized, training camps will open for business on March 21.
The New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions will square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16 in the first game of the season. The opening contest will be broadcasted on NBC and FOX, the first sporting event to air on two competing networks since Super Bowl I in 1967.
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