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XFL update: Tampa Bay Vipers reveal ticket prices, league sets draft format

The team’s pitch: an affordable game-day experience.
 
The Tampa Bay Vipers will slither into Raymond James Stadium in February.
The Tampa Bay Vipers will slither into Raymond James Stadium in February. [ XFL ]
Published Oct. 8, 2019

With the kickoff of the XFL season exactly four months away, here are some updates and reminders about Tampa Bay’s team, the Vipers:

Tickets: The team is announcing season ticket prices today. Packages for the Vipers’ five-game home schedule will cost as low as $100 per seat and as much as $450 per seat. About 80 percent of the Vipers’ season tickets will cost $50 or less per game, the team said.

Fans who purchase a season ticket will receive a “VIP Field Pass” for one home game. The pass will allow access to the field during pregame or postgame activities. Visit XFL.com/tickets or XFLVipers.com for more information.

Player draft: The league’s eight teams will build 71-man rosters over two days next week. The draft will consist of five phases: a skill-player phase (quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends), an offensive line phase, a defensive front phase (linemen and linebackers), a defensive back phase and an open phase. Each of the first four phases will last 10 rounds. The last phase, in which teams can choose from any of the remaining players regardless of position, will last 30 rounds.

Several former Buccaneers are 1,000 players who are eligible to be drafted: kicker Roberto Aguayo, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, defensive tackle Sealver Siliga and tight end Evan Rodriguez.

Before the draft, each team will be assigned a quarterback, presumably its starter.

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Training camp: Coach Marc Trestman’s squad will gather in December and practice at Plant City Stadium, the former spring home of baseball’s Cincinnati Reds.

Regular season: Play begins Feb. 8, a week after the NFL’s Super Bowl. Each team will play a 10-game schedule. Most games will be played on Saturdays and Sundays; some will be played on Thursdays. Four teams will advance to the playoffs, and the championship game is scheduled for April 26.

The Vipers will play their home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Television: Games will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, FS1 and FS2. On most Saturdays, ABC will air a game at 2 p.m. and FOX will air a game at 5 p.m. Sunday times and channels vary more, but there still will be an afternoon broadcast (3 or 4 p.m.) and an early evening broadcast (6 or 7 p.m.).

Contact Thomas Bassinger at tbassinger@tampabay.com. Follow @tometrics.