Appatently the Hoover Met had too many scheduling conflicts to pernit an in-market relocation for the Birmingham Stallions. Mike Repole decides the best way to make up for the inconsistency in Houston is to exit the market:

https://www.theufl.com/news/ufl-announce...h-strategy

Sad news. I’m guessing one franchise plays in Oklahoma and they’ll be looking for a home for the other. Maybe they go back to Michigan and play at EMU’s place.

(07-30-2026 05:34 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Sad news. I’m guessing one franchise plays in Oklahoma and they’ll be looking for a home for the other. Maybe they go back to Michigan and play at EMU’s place.

Folks won't drive to Ypsilanti. 2028 and the USL stadium opening is the best opportunity for the Panthers to return. AlumniFI Field broke ground two weeks ago.

Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

The new league owner seems kind of hyper fixated upon small venues which would exclude a lot of the places that have been home to spring/minor league football in the past.

I’d like to see the league give San Antonio and Memphis another try. With a stable team and good community organizing, I think the Liberty Bowl and Alamo Bowl could join St Louis as flagship venues of the league.

Metro Atlanta is another place worth looking at.

I also would give SLC a look. The MLS stadium is the right size—maybe do a Red and Blue color scheme and call the team Utah United in an effort to attract Ute and Cougar fans.

(07-31-2026 06:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

2027 (Relocations): Utah, New England (at Rhode Island FC's stadium)
2028 (Expansion): Detroit, Oklahoma City
2029 (Expansion): Omaha, Austin

(07-31-2026 06:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

The new league owner seems kind of hyper fixated upon small venues which would exclude a lot of the places that have been home to spring/minor league football in the past.

I’d like to see the league give San Antonio and Memphis another try. With a stable team and good community organizing, I think the Liberty Bowl and Alamo Bowl could join St Louis as flagship venues of the league.

Metro Atlanta is another place worth looking at.

I also would give SLC a look. The MLS stadium is the right size—maybe do a Red and Blue color scheme and call the team Utah United in an effort to attract Ute and Cougar fans.

(07-31-2026 07:12 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  

(07-31-2026 06:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

2027 (Relocations): Utah, New England (at Rhode Island FC's stadium)
2028 (Expansion): Detroit, Oklahoma City
2029 (Expansion): Omaha, Austin

Utah may be a difficult because in 2027, the NWSL will start in February because the Women's World Cup is in the summer (June 24-July 25) and MLS will run a 14-match Sprint Season from February-May 2027 before joining the global soccer calendar in July 2027.

(07-31-2026 07:48 PM)Renandpat Wrote:  Utah may be a difficult because in 2027, the NWSL will start in February because the Women's World Cup is in the summer (June 24-July 25) and MLS will run a 14-match Sprint Season from February-May 2027 before joining the global soccer calendar in July 2027.

That's not really that much earlier or a start for the NWSL compared to prior years. MLS already plays February-May under the current format anyway. Obviously it will be a tight fit, but San Diego State/FC San Diego/San Diego Wave currently negotiate that during the college football season. That probably realistically means both soccer teams at home one weekend, followed by a UFL game the following weekend; do that for March, April, and the first half of May and that's 5 home games for everyone in 10 weeks; Real Salt Lake would probably need some Wednesday/Sunday matches given MLS is trying to cram 14 regular season matches and playoffs during the sprint season, but that would leave Friday and Saturday open for the NWSL Royals.

(07-31-2026 07:48 PM)Renandpat Wrote:  

(07-31-2026 06:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

The new league owner seems kind of hyper fixated upon small venues which would exclude a lot of the places that have been home to spring/minor league football in the past.

I’d like to see the league give San Antonio and Memphis another try. With a stable team and good community organizing, I think the Liberty Bowl and Alamo Bowl could join St Louis as flagship venues of the league.

Metro Atlanta is another place worth looking at.

I also would give SLC a look. The MLS stadium is the right size—maybe do a Red and Blue color scheme and call the team Utah United in an effort to attract Ute and Cougar fans.

(07-31-2026 07:12 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  

(07-31-2026 06:11 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Anyone care to speculate where the Birmingham and Houston teams will play in 2027?

2027 (Relocations): Utah, New England (at Rhode Island FC's stadium)
2028 (Expansion): Detroit, Oklahoma City
2029 (Expansion): Omaha, Austin

Utah may be a difficult because in 2027, the NWSL will start in February because the Women's World Cup is in the summer (June 24-July 25) and MLS will run a 14-match Sprint Season from February-May 2027 before joining the global soccer calendar in July 2027.

The Louisville Kings already share a venue with an NWSL club.

Yeah, this iteration of the Gamblers was a bad franchise. The Roughnecks were better. (I'm a Dallas Renegades fan so it doesn't really bother me.) As for the Birmingham franchise, that's a real shame. I hope they're able to come back into existence someday.

The UFL has announced Pawtucket, Rhode Island and Colorado Springs, Colorado for the 2027 season. The league will expand to Salt Lake City, Utah and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the 2028 season:

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ufl-an...32452.html

Yikes—these facilities are tiny. They must have very little faith that the fanbases will grow.

(09-23-2026 10:58 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Yikes—these facilities are tiny. They must have very little faith that the fanbases will grow.

Without seeing their financials, my guess the only reason this league exists at all is because of TV. Gameday revenue is important, but it's not determining whether the UFL sinks or swims. A little scarcity may also be a good thing, as someone who can pay $300 for seats up close can produce better yield than having multiple people pay $20 for a seat.

If Weidener Field (Colorado Springs) and Centreville Bank Stadium (Rhode Island) get expanded, it will be because of USSF requirements for Division 1 sanctioning - that is still a HUGE question mark for the USL, as they attempt to launch a Division 1 soccer league. The UFL may get dragged along whether they want to or not.

I’ll be interested to see how they brand these teams and what names they come up with. Personally, I think these teams should be referred to as Colorado and New England in order to cast a broader fan base.

With all the struggles they are having, I am surprised they got folks still wanting to get involved.

(09-25-2026 11:50 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I’ll be interested to see how they brand these teams and what names they come up with. Personally, I think these teams should be referred to as Colorado and New England in order to cast a broader fan base.

Both are going be [State Name] in their branding apparently. It looks like Utah and OKC will be the same as well.

(09-23-2026 04:27 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  

(09-23-2026 10:58 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Yikes—these facilities are tiny. They must have very little faith that the fanbases will grow.

Without seeing their financials, my guess the only reason this league exists at all is because of TV. Gameday revenue is important, but it's not determining whether the UFL sinks or swims. A little scarcity may also be a good thing, as someone who can pay $300 for seats up close can produce better yield than having multiple people pay $20 for a seat.

If Weidener Field (Colorado Springs) and Centreville Bank Stadium (Rhode Island) get expanded, it will be because of USSF requirements for Division 1 sanctioning - that is still a HUGE question mark for the USL, as they attempt to launch a Division 1 soccer league. The UFL may get dragged along whether they want to or not.

The league itself was born of a merger between the USFL and XFL - both of which had Fox and ESPN respectively, involved from the jump - part of the reason they started the leagues was to fill TV timeslots with content they controlled in-house.


Mike Repole (Vitaminwater/Smartwater, Bodyarmor, NoBull cofounder) knows how to market a brand if nothing else: He seems to be going with the vision of having teams have good gameday atmospheres with smaller modern stadiums in overlooked markets. Good atmosphere -> better chance at better crowds/repeat fans wanting to be part of an experience -> better optics/viewership on TV -> wider audience -> more fans watching on TV and going to games.

Not sure if the vision will work, but I get the logic at least, and I respect the willingness to shake things up.