Coming just a few days after the Detroit News reported that the USFL was set to host an event at Ford Field, the league officially announced the fourth and final regional hub city in 2023. Just a day after the league announced that the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers would call Canton, Ohio home, the league capitalized on the buzz, naming Detroit, Michigan home of the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars.
https://twitter.com/USFL/status/1618642456542867456
Detroit is a budding city with a passionate fanbase that is sure to support its home team Panthers. With plenty of retail and social spaces emerging within the city, it looks to be the perfect place for a league looking to build a foundation of followers. Both the Panthers and Stars will bring name notoriety too as both were founding members of the league in the early 1980s. Even the Detroit Lions will benefit, as the early Panthers and Stars matchups will serve as the first games at Ford Field with the brand new monofilament field turf. This is coming after the NFLPA started to raise grievances about the more common slit-film field turf causing injuries.
USFL Bringing Polar Opposites to Detroit:
Detroiters will have a lot to look forward to when it comes to football as the Lions are on the rise and now their 1983 champion Panthers return home a full 40 years later. The Panthers finished 2-8 under head coach Jeff Fisher in 2022 and will look to rebound as they return home. Winning the battle for the first overall pick in the offseason draft, and refreshing their roster with a lot of young talent looks to be achievable.
The Philadelphia Stars will also call Detroit home, but with a much different goal. After a solid 6-4 season with head coach Bart Andrus, the Stars reached the USFL championship game, falling short to the Birmingham Stallions. With plenty of returning talent and a strong foundation to build from, the Stars will once again look towards being crowned champions in 2023. The main question surrounding the team is if star quarterback Case Cookus returns after an excellent 2022 campaign. The quarterback bounced around NFL rosters and is yet to resign with the Stars. If he doesn’t, a scramble to fill the position could tank their season.
Scheduling Gives Detroit a Week Three Launch:
The league schedule has already been released and Detroit won’t see action until week three. Why so late? Well, the spring league does have hubs set up in Birmingham, Alabama, and in Memphis, Tennesee. Last season, some unbearable heat deterred fans from making the trip out to games midway through the season. To ensure that doesn’t occur, the league is aiming to keep the climate-controlled games at Ford Field towards the middle and end of the season. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include the playoffs or championship as those will still take place in Canton, Ohio at the storied Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Tickets On Sale Now:
April 30th, one day after the NFL draft occurs, will be the kickoff for action in Detroit. Tickets are on sale now and can be bought for a lower price if packaged together for multiple games. The Michigan Panthers and league management believe the recent success of football in Detroit has created a hotbed of passionate fans waiting for the next big thing to cheer for. With the Panthers and Stars now setting up camp in those fan’s backyards, the league is sure to find some ticketing and merchandising success, a huge determinant for this league’s future.
Tickets can be found here, and are available now. Detroit is lucky enough not to have a football offseason this year, so fans should capitalize on it now.
