Shortly after entrepreneur Mike Repole became a UFL investor and took over as the league’s head of business operations, it became clear changes would be coming for 2026. Relocation in particular was a talking point through the past several months. 
It is now known how the UFL’s landscape for 2026 will shake out. The Memphis Showboats, Michigan Panthers and San Antonio Brahmas are no longer in operation, and each of those three teams have been relocated. Columbus, as expected, will serve as the host city for a franchise beginning next spring. The same is true of Louisville and Orlando.
“Due to stadium constraints, the available venues in these areas do not align with our new vision of focusing on smaller, more intimate settings that elevate the fan experience,” the UFL said in a statement regarding the decision to move on from Memphis, Michigan and San Antonio (via Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal).
With attendance seen as a key priority, a driving factor in the decision to relocate was the fact the new teams will play in much smaller venues than their predecessors. Each of the new franchises will play their home games in stadiums with a capacity of 20,000 or less. Similarly, both Texas teams will play in Major League Soccer stadiums moving forward.
“It’s going to feel real, real different, and it’s going to show better on TV,” Repole said when speaking about the move toward smaller venues (via ESPN.com). “The sound is going to be better, and the experience and the engagement is going to be better.”
The Texas-based teams will continue operating during the 2026 season, but they will do so under new monikers. The Renegades franchise is once again known as Dallas instead of Arlington (which was the case during its XFL existence), while Houston’s is now the Gamblers. Keeping with the league’s setup from previous years, the UFL’s headquarters will remain in Arlington. During the week, each of the eight teams will continue practicing in the Dallas area before traveling to games.
The other three UFL franchises – the St. Louis Battlehawks, the D.C. Defenders and the Birmingham Stallions – will carry on in their respective locations and with their current monikers for 2026. The coming campaign will nevertheless include several changes, though, as the league looks for stability amid long-term plans for expansion.
As if Ohio didn’t have enough mediocre pro football already.
As a Michigan Panthers fan…this is disappointing 😞…..won’t be following the team when they move…..
What a weird setup for a league, having everyone practice in the same city , and then travel to play in cities they nominally represent. Do the teams fly together? Does the home team fly business first class and the visitors fly coach??? It reminds me of World Team Tennis, in which the teams also nominally represent cities they never play in, or that ridiculous made-for-tv golf league that ESPN just started, in which teams of golfers play for cities they never visit, as each match is at SoFi Stadium in LA. These teams aren’t going to be covered by local media, and most people won’t even know these teams exist. It seems like we’re headed for a sports landscape in which all competition takes place in TV studios and fans’ presence won’t matter.
Exactly
A failed league that just won’t accept that no one cares hiding behind the old more intimate stadium bs.
It’s good that they’re decreasing stadium sizes and going after new markets, but the whole “practice in Dallas and travel to the games” thing is pretty silly. I’m sure it’s a cost-cutting measure but it makes the league feel even more bush league than it is. Why would any community feel the need to support a team when they have no connection to it? Fly in, play a game, leave. No PR, no community outreach, no connection to where they’re playing. This is how you grow a fanbase? Ridiculous.
Also just going for names, if Orlando is back, the name “Renegades” should go with them. Orlando Renegades was a USFL team. Give Dallas a newer, better name. D.C. Defenders is awful and as boring as the Washington Federals were, too. And “Battlehawks” is terrible, too. San Antonio should never have been the “Brahmas”, either. Gunslingers was right there for the taking, like in the old USFL. Glad “Gamblers” is back for Houston, but not sure what they’re doing with some of the other names. Some of the uniforms and color schemes are really bad and boring as well (Defenders).
Sorry for ranting. I’ve read Jeff Pearlman’s book about the USFL as well as Jim Byrne’s (both great and very funny) and even Paul Reeths dry history, all recently, so I’m looking forward to the new UFL season in a way.
“Fly in, play a game, leave”.
Well, it doesn’t sound a whole lot different from Goodell’s international game strategy when you think about it 🙂
No more Brahmas!!??
Aww man…..
Such a terrible name
The UFL needs to relocate one of their teams to the sandlot in Goku’s neighborhood 🙂
Put a Team in DC and call them the Washington Redskins and Columbus should be called the Columbus Indians
Even though they aren’t actively using it, I’d be stunned if the Commanders didn’t still own all the legal aspects for that name and image to prevent exactly this from happening.
If you watch this league you must be a football junkie….emphasis on junkie.
This is why no one has cared about this league. 3-4 years and good riddance when they’ll find no one to sustain an audience.
I don’t know how many attempts, stunts and wrestlers have to be brought up to try and compete with the NFL. It’s becoming stupid at this point.
They need to focus on cities without NFL teams. Orlando and Louisville make a lot of sense. They were smart to stay in St Louis and Birmingham. I’m surprised San Antonio and Memphis didn’t work. What about San Diego, OKC, Salt Lake City, and/or Portland?
Soccer stadiums are cheaper to rent compared to NFL Stadiums