Meet the Vipers: Tampa Bay's XFL team gets a name

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - A new sports team is slithering into town next year: the Tampa Bay Vipers. 

On Wednesday afternoon, XFL officials revealed the names and logo for the eight franchise locations, with Tampa Bay being home to one of those teams. The local team's V-shaped logo is green and yellow, reflecting similar colors from the University of South Florida.

"Hunters by instinct. Cold-blooded by nature. Luring all who challenge them into the jaws of defeat. Ready to strike February 2020: The Tampa Bay Vipers," according to a tweet by XFL.

Teams will begin drafting players in October. Home games for the Vipers will be at Raymond James Stadium and team practices will take place in Plant City. 

The other XFL franchises are: St. Louis Battlehawks, New York Guardians, Los Angeles Wildcats, 
Seattle Dragons, DC Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, and the Dallas Renegades.

When officials announced the new XFL in December 2018, they promised it will be less gimmicky and controversial than the first attempt to launch the league in 2001 – which only lasted one season. The owner, Vince McMahon, who is also the chairman for the WWE, sold hundreds of millions of dollars in WWE stock to bankroll the XFL.

Earlier this month, former University of Oklahoma and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones became the first player to sign with the reimagined XFL. The league will sign seven other "leading quarterbacks" ahead of October's inaugural player draft.

In June, a test session was held, where ESPN and FOX producers got to see how the proposed rules will affect a broadcast.

Plans include a 25-second clock between plays — which is 15 seconds less than the NFL, multiple forward passes as long as the players remain behind the line of scrimmage and a creative solution for overtime.

The XFL will use a format similar to penalty shootouts in soccer. Teams will line up at opposite ends of the field and get five opportunities from the 5-yard line. The team with the most points at the end wins.

The 2020 season will kick off Saturday, February 8 and will air on FOX. 

LINK: For more, visit xfl.com.

FOX Sports contributed to this report.