Michael Stewart, assistant football coach, said he was excited when he heard the news of the possibility of St. Louis getting an Extreme Football League (XFL) team.

“As a football coach you always wanna see any sort of a professional level being played in your hometown of St. Louis,” Stewart said. “It’s nice to see that they’re bringing it back finally.”

Earlier this year Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWE, announced he plans to bring back the XFL in eight cities, including St. Louis.

The XFL originally started in 2001, but it failed after one season.

This will be St. Louis’s third try at a professional football team after, first, the Cardinals (1960-1987) and then the Rams (1995-2015).

“It was disheartening when the Rams left so maybe kind of a new path to take is to have professional football in the city of St. Louis,” Stewart said.

Stewart also said an XFL team may bring more youth into football programs, especially at schools that struggle to have every freshman, j.v. and varsity teams.

“I know how [the XFL] did in the past, and I know that also wasn’t the most successful way to have a football organization,” Stewart said. “As long as it’s providing a good example for all those kids, I see nothing wrong with them coming to St. Louis.”

Ben Swift, junior, said he’s happy at the prospect of getting an XFL team.

“We have a football team, and it’s more revenue for the city of St. Louis,” Swift said.

Swift said he would definitely attend the games, and he thinks having a team will help the entire city, from its businesses to its schools.

“I think it’s cool that we’ll finally get our football team back,” Swift said.

David Carter, a sports business professor at the University of Southern California, said both the construction of venues for these sports and the revenue from the games can be important for cities.

“They provide temporary jobs during construction of the venue, as well as part time jobs once the team begins play,” Carter said. “Teams can also serve to help gentrify communities.”

An XFL team would play at the Dome, so construction is not required, but Carter said this could better St. Louis’s chances at getting a team for the XFL’s comeback season in 2020.

“Often times, the local or state government allocates taxpayer dollars to the building of stadiums – and this commitment of dollars seldom makes economic sense,” Carter said. “That is, they do not receive a meaningful return on the taxpayers investment as much of the benefit accrues to the team and its owner.”