Veterans Memorial Stadium has a long history of hosting high school, college and professional football teams, and the iconic facility will add another chapter to its legacy as it becomes the practice facility for the XFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats football team beginning in late January.

The Wildcats are part of the XFL which is launching its inaugural season the weekend after the Super Bowl and will feature eight teams.

The Wildcats are packed with SoCal talent including local players such as DeQuan Hampton, an LBCC and USC alum, as well as Lakewood/USC alum Toa Lobendahn and St. John Bosco/USC alum Damien Mama.

The Wildcats will play their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly the Stubhub Center and the Home Depot Center). Their first game will be on February 8 in Houston; their first home game February 16, against the Dallas Renegades.

Long Beach has its own history with pro football, that is, aside from producing dozens of NFL players. Blair Field was the Los Angeles’ Rams’ practice facility before they moved practices to Anaheim, and the USFL’s LA Express held their camps on what is now George Allen Field at Long Beach State.

Vets itself was the practice field for the Kansas City Chiefs in advance of Super Bowl I in 1966 and also hosted the Long Beach Admirals, a Continental Football League team in the late 1960s.