ST. LOUIS—After enjoying an absolute domination of the Houston Roughnecks last Sunday, the Battlehawks return to their St. Louis home for the first time since last season’s playoffs. It’ll be a revenge match against the San Antonio Brahmas who beat them during last year’s XFL Conference Championship game under the same roof but not under the same lights or same turf. The Battlehawks received major upgrades to both since last season.

What You Need To Know

  • The Battlehawks crushed the Roughnecks in the season opener and will host the Brahmas in the St. Louis home opener

  • Battlehawks' President of Team Operations said there will be a local vibe beginning ahead of the game at their official 2 p.m. tailgate at Baer Plaza

  • At 2:30 p.m. the players will cross the street to the dome, high-fiving fans along the way 

“We’re incredibly excited to get back there. Just to be in front of a group of people, a group of fans who love football there, they’re diehard football fans there,” said Manny Wilkins, Week 1 starting quarterback for the Battlehawks. “Just to know how dialed in they are and the passion that they bring. Helping us on third and fourth downs with the defense, it’s another element of the game that clearly no other team has that advantage as we do. We’re really looking forward to getting out there and putting on a show for our fans.”

Battlehawks fans are just a different breed compared to the rest of the UFL fanbase, according to the team.

“Battlehawks fans are special, right?” said David Kinsey, Battlehawks’ President of Team Operations. “There’s no other fan base like this in the league whatsoever—We like to pack this place as full as we can get. I think you’re going to see a lot of people excited to see the one and O Battle Hawks team trying to make it two and O.”

Houston fell quite short of a five-digit attendance number, something the Battlehawks faithful have easily eclipsed in every game dating back to their XFL days.

“I think what you can expect is a fan base that’s going to be rabid,” said Kinsey.

Aside from the rabid fans, Kinsey promises more of a local vibe beginning ahead of the game. Their family-friendly official tailgate starts at 2 p.m. across the street from the Dome in the Baer Plaza.

At 2:30 p.m., the players will cross the street while high-fiving fans on their way into the dome. Inside, he said there’s a theme to this season.

“You’re going to see more of the Lou you love. That’s our theme heading into the season. I took this role back in January. One of the things I challenged the team with was let’s be family friendly to the City of St. Louis.”

Kinsey said guests can expect more local flare around the stadium than past seasons and a special introduction is coming this Sunday. Battlehawks will unveil “something special” they’ve been working on in the offseason.

After a lot of questions of who would start at quarterback during the offseason, Wilkins impressed in the Week 1 victory. He passed for 189 yards, rushed for 43 and ran in two touchdowns. Though the team has blown out opponents on occasion in the past, this felt different.

“I think mentality. We come in, not focusing on what happened the last two years. You can’t dwell on the past, you have to see what’s in front of you—There’s a lot of guys here inside of this building that are present.”

“I think what I saw Sunday was a veteran led team,” said Kinsey. “You’ve got a coach that’s coming into his third year. You’ve got players that have been here for several seasons—they were ready to go.”

The National Football League looks at the XFL not only for potential rule considerations like the evolution of kickoff but also for players that needed more time to develop after college.

“You have to have this certain level of attention to detail that I think a lot of our guys do have,” said Wilkins. “A lot of guys are hungry to get to the next level. There’s a lot of guys who are playing with a real sense of urgency because they know this window of opportunity is not a huge window.”

As a team, the Battlehawks set a new franchise record with 273 rushing yards and 460 total offensive yards. UFL’s offensive player of the week was a tie between five players as the league chose the entire Battlehawks’ offensive line.

“Coming out strong, that was one thing that we kind of struggled with last year,” said Mike Panasiuk, Center on the offensive line for the Battlehawks. “Coming out strong early. I feel like we did that throughout all four quarters.”

Battlehawks kickoff against the Brahmas on April 6 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

For more information on attending Battlehawks games, here is their FAQ page.