Top Stadium Options for a USFL Philadelphia Hub

The USFL reportedly is looking into Northern Conference hubs in Detroit and Philadelphia metro areas, according to Tony Paul or The Detroit News.

New Orleans Breakers head coach John DeFilippo mentioned in a now-deleted interview that it was likely that four teams will play in Detroit in 2023. Nothing to this point has been finalized and a hub in Philadelphia remains very much in the cards.

One advantage of a Philadelphia hub is that it’s close in proximity to the New Jersey Generals fanbase and would be able to get two fanbases for the price of one. If Philadelphia does end up as a USFL hub in 2023 or beyond, here are USFL Newsroom’s top stadium candidates for the league.

Subaru Park (Chester, PA)

The home of the MLS’ Philadelphia Union has a USFL friendly capacity of 18,500. We’ve seen from the XFL’s DC Defenders that spring football looks really good in MLS stadiums. Chester is less than a 30 minute drive from downtown Philadelphia and the stadium has hosted multiple Delaware vs Villanova games. The venue opened in 2010 and is owned by Delaware County and operated by the Philadelphia Union and their owner Jay Sugarman. The Park has plenty of parking and conveniently located off the highway.

Franklin Field (Philadelphia, PA)

The next best option for the USFL is the legendary Franklin Field, home of Penn Football and the renowned Penn Relays track meet. The renovated stadium was built in the 1800s and was once home to the Philadelphia Eagles. At over 50,000 in capacity, it’s less than ideal but it at least has enough seats and the USFL used tarps in 2022 to cover empty seats. The University of Penn operates and owns the venue. Rent at the venue would likely be significantly cheaper than other options. In recent years Franklin Field had tenants from the National Independent Soccer Association and a professional ultimate frisbee team.

Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)

Home to the Eagles, the Linc was built for professional football of the fall variety. Owned by the city, the stadium is operated by the Eagles and seats over 70,000. This is likely too large for spring football. Several hours north of Philadelphia, the New York Guardians of 2020 tried to fill up a NFL stadium with no success. A main factor working against the Linc is the likely expensive rent payments the USFL would have to make.

Villanova Stadium (Villanova, PA)

Villanova’s football venue is a little further out than the other venues listed here, but would not have a problem filling fans with a cozy capacity of 12,500. The last pro team to call this venue home was the Major League Lacrosse’s Philadelphia Barrage. Like Franklin Field, the venue is owned and operated by the university.

Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, PA)

USFL’s VP of Football Operations Brian Woods is no stranger to playing football in baseball venues, something he did in multiple instances in his first pro league, the FXFL. Like the Linc, the venue is owned by the city of Philadelphia and leased by it’s major league tennant (Philadelphia Phillies). Oak View Group operates the venue, as well as the Memphis Showboats’ Liberty Stadium.

Other options include going further out from the city and playing in Delaware, the Lehigh Valley region, or closer to New York City. Ultimately the top selection would be suburban Subaru Park, which is a modern, mid-sized venue that would create an exciting atmosphere for a reasonable lease agreement.

Where would you like to see the USFL land in 2023? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.