JANET DUCH today was named President of the XFL’s N.Y. franchise, which will begin playing next February at MetLife Stadium. The reborn XFL has now named four of its eight team presidents over the past month, with two women getting the nod. Duch, a SBJ/SBD Forty Under 40 honoree in '15, is a Brooklyn native who was Senior VP/Marketing & Communications at On Location Experiences since '16. Duch previously was at MSG for 18 years in various PR and marketing jobs. She spoke with THE DAILY about her new job with the yet-to-be-named franchise.
Q: What intrigued you about this opportunity?
Duch: The XFL’s vision of reimagining football is appealing and the opportunity to lead and build a team in New York from the ground up on the business side is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Q: What’s at the top of your to-do list?
Duch: We’ve got to secure a practice facility and find office space for the team, hopefully in Manhattan. Staffing-wise, we’re still working on organization charts. Then we’ll start hiring.
Q: What’s going to be different about the XFL?
Duch: It's about accelerating football and having a faster pace. We’ve been looking at rule changes to help there. Off-field, it will be about providing access and bringing fans closer.
Q: How tough will it be to attract fans to outdoor games in tough Northeast weather months, like February and March?
Duch: Weather will be a challenge in the early months. We’ll get creative with clubs and other indoor spaces. We are also looking to tap into youth football leagues in the area to build fan support and family attendance.
