On Nov. 17, officials from Major League Rugby announced that a new franchise named the Chicago Hounds will begin play in February 2023, per a press release.
At the news conference in downtown Chicago, the league revealed the nickname and the team's colorsgreen and sky blue.
The Chicago Houndsthe 12th team in the leaguewill play at SeatGeek Stadium and will play their inaugural home match in Bridgeview on Sunday, March 4, against the Utah Warriors. Chicago will play its first match on the road at Old Glory DC on Saturday, Feb. 18.
According to Sports Pro Media, the development happened after the Los Angeles Giltinis and Austin Gilgronis were dropped from the North American rugby union competition due to uncertainty regarding the two teams' ownership.
Both franchises, which were owned by F45 Training co-founder Adam Gilchrist, were recently suspended for alleged back-office misconduct. According to The Guardian, this was due to salary cap breaches.
The 2023 season will involve Eastern and Western conferences, each with six teams, who will take part in a 16-game regular season schedule and playoffs.