ST. LOUIS - On Friday, the XFL professional football league announced that it was suspending operations, laid off all its employees in both its league and team offices, and also announced that they would not return for its 2021 spring season, citing losses due to the COVID-19 crisis that has swept the nation.
On Monday, the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, saying it owes between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors between $10 and $50 million. It's the largest creditor was the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, owners of The Dome at America's Center, the home stadium of the St. Louis BattleHawks franchise.
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The filing was made by the league's parent company, Alpha Sports, Inc., which is owned by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., and by Vince McMahon, the WWE president. In debt listings made in the filing, the XFL also said it owed $633,333 to BattleHawks head coach and general manager Jonathan Hayes.
In a news release on Monday, XFL officials said that the COVID-19 crisis didn't insulate the league from the current economic problems and realities that the crisis has caused around both the United States and the world.
"This is a heartbreaking time for many," the statement in the press release read, "including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners (ESPN and Fox Sports) and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football."
St. Louis CVC attorney Bob Wallace, Jr. said that the XFL was current on its debts to the organization for game expenses to date. The BattleHawks had only played two home games, attracting crowds of nearly 30,000, and had planned to open up the upper decks of the stadium to allow for increased ticket demand for its third home game last month against the Los Angeles Wildcats before the league cancelled the remainder of its season Mar. 10 because of the COVID-19 crisis.
