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The United States Football League (USFL) will hold its playoff games and championship in Canton, Ohio, later this summer when its inaugural season comes to a close, Fox News Digital has learned.
The USFL playoffs and championship will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, which is located next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and holds up to 20,000 people. It’s the same venue where the NFL hosts its Hall of Fame Game to mark the start of the preseason each year.
The USFL playoffs are set to begin on June 25 with the top two teams from the North Division and the South Division going head to head for a spot in the championship. The title game is set for July 3.
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The USFL is bringing spring football back. (USFL)
"We’re excited to play our first playoffs and championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium," USFL Executive Vice President of Business Operations Edward Hartman said in a news release, first obtained by Fox News Digital on 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 rebooted spring football league will kick off April 16. There will be eight teams split into two divisions. The North Division consists of the New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers. The South Division will feature the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits. The teams will play a 10-week regular season.
The eight teams who will be competing in 2022 in the USFL. (USFL)
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While each of the regular season games will be played at either Protective Stadium or Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, a scheduling conflict will prevent the teams from playing in the playoffs there. The 2022 World Games are set for the venues, according to the league.
"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 playoff," Mike Levy, the Hall of Fame Village’s president of operations, said in the news release. "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."
Fans cheer during the 2021 NFL preseason Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys at Tom Benson Hall Of Fame Stadium on Aug. 5, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Each of the teams will be coached by figures with lengthy backgrounds in football.
The Stallions will be coached by Skip Holtz, the Bandits by Todd Haley, the Breakers by Larry Fedora, the Maulers by Kirby Wilson, the Gamblers by Kevin Sumlin, the Stars by Bart Andrus, the Generals by Mike Riley and the Panthers by Jeff Fisher.
Brian Woods is the league’s president of football operations. Daryl Johnston is the executive vice president of football operations. Mike Pereira is the head of officiating. Hartman is the executive vice president of business operations. Eric Shanks, FOX Sports CEO and executive producer, is the chairman of the USFL’s board of directors.
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The first USFL game between the Generals and the Stallions will be at 7:30 p.m. ET on April 16. FOX and NBC will share the telecast for the game. Tickets are going for about $10 each.