The on-again, off-again XFL may be on again.
Alpha Entertainment, part of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon”™s empire, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, estimating that it had 1,000 to 5,000 creditors.
But McMahon ”“ who oversaw the football league in its original 2001 incarnation and its truncated rebirth this year ”“ is reportedly looking to buy the league out of bankruptcy.
According to The Athletic, the league”™s creditors “seem to believe” McMahon is maneuvering to buy the XFL out of bankruptcy. XFL President Jeffrey Pollack has contacted stadiums in Seattle and St. Louis about reinstating the league”™s lease agreements, according to the report.
The creditors have objected to a proposal in the bankruptcy filing that they pay $3.5 million in season-ticket refunds. According to The Athletic, a committee of creditors wrote that the payment “is being sought to further the efforts of the debtor”™s controlling equity holder/secured lender, Vincent McMahon ”¦ to acquire the debtor at a fire-sale price.”
The ticket refunds would be part of an effort to improve relations with customers, ahead of reviving the league, the report surmised.
The XFL ”“ like WWE, based in Stamford ”“ declined to comment.
