Gerald Hanks
The Legends Football League (LFL), formerly, or more commonly, known as the Lingerie Football League, announced it will expand from its current eight U.S.-based teams to include a team in Houston.
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The expansion comes as the league seeks to move away from a central ownership structure toward a local ownership groups, as with the franchise model in other professional sports:
“From our league office, in some instances we are thousands of miles away from our teams, thus we can only lend so much support,” LFL Managing Partner Mitchell Mortaza said in an interview. “Bringing on in-market ownership groups, will provide daily and in-market support of each of our individual clubs, allowing our teams, as well as the sport, to reach new heights.”
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The LFL announced it secured local ownership groups in Nashville and Houston.
According to a press release from the league, there are plans to expand to up to 33 markets in the next 10 years.
In terms of Texas teams, the Austin Acoustic began playing as members of the LFL during 2016.
The Dallas Desire played as the first Texas team in the LFL in 2004; however, franchise administration suspended operations in 2012, with the team ultimately folding in 2016.
Expansion to Nashville with the introduction of the Knights is scheduled to launch its inaugural season in April 2018, with the currently unnamed Houston team reportedly set to launch spring 2020.
Internationally, the LFL plays with established leagues in Canada and Australia, with additional reported plans to launch a similar league in Europe.
Like featured below, the LFL plays most of their games in arenas, while some play at soccer stadiums on a shorter field.
Plans for a Houston venue are unclear at the moment, but possible options include games at the Toyota Center or BBVA Compass Stadium downtown, or Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
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The LFL features seven-on-seven full-contact football, where players wear hockey helmets instead of the traditional face-mask football helmets.
During the 2013 season, LFL officials announced players would wear “performance apparel” instead of “lingerie.”
