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Game over for XFL: Operations suspended, with no plans to return

It only lasted five games, but the new-look XFL definitely captured the hearts of St. Louis area football fans.

Still, on Friday morning, the professional football league announced it was shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The XFL suspended operations and fired its employees Friday morning, according to ESPN reports, when Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Pollack conducted a 10-minute conference call. There are no plans for the league to return in 2021. The XFL is owned by World Wrestling Entertainment chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. This is his second shot at professional football; the original XFL, in 2001, also folded after just one season.