ST. LOUIS—The XFL’s Battlehawks made more than 38,000 fans go home happy from the Dome at America’s Center Sunday following a 24-11 win for the first league game in St. Louis since the pandemic-interrupted 2020 campaign.
The 38,310 in attendance broke the record the BattleHawks set that year, and according to the league, is a new record for any modern-era spring pro football game.
Parking lots were full of tailgating fans as early as 8am for the 3pm kickoff. Police reported no major incidents, including car break-ins.
The team announced Sunday morning that it had reached its “sellable capacity” after opening a portion of the 400 level.
“This community owns this team, and has been waiting for this team to return,” XFL co-owner Dany Garcia told Spectrum News in a one-on-one interview before the game. “This team, and this city, they’ve been waiting. That excitement that deep buy in, it’s almost like the Battlehawks have been here for 15-20 years even though it was five weeks and then this our next iteration,” she said.
A lot has changed since 2020. The Rams’ departure is further in the rearview mirror. The St. Louis region now has $500 million, not including legal fees, of the NFL’s money as a result of Stan Kroenke’s scorched-Earth shuffle off to Southern California.
Outside the stadium, fans said their support was for football and something they could call their own.
