The United Football League confronted an early-season logistical problem when the Orlando Storm’s home semifinal landed on a weekend Inter&Co Stadium was already booked. League officials at first settled on a neutral site nearly 1,000 miles away in Columbus, Ohio, prompting heavy local pushback before a deal was reached six days before kickoff to move the game 50 miles away to Daytona Stadium, where 6,317 fans attended the Storm’s 28-22 loss to the D.C. Defenders, according to ESPN.
The season concludes with Saturday’s United Bowl between the Defenders and the Louisville Kings (3 p.m. ET, ABC), a game that caps a campaign marked by both progress and persistent challenges, according to ESPN.
Operational issues included a slight leaguewide attendance decline in 2026, coach complaints about limited roster control, thinly stocked merchandise stores early in the season and the reality that television audiences above 1 million — roughly 20% of a typical NFL game — were treated as major accomplishments, ESPN reported.
There were countervailing signs of momentum. Regular-season ratings increased 8% on Disney networks and 5% on Fox Sports versus 2025, scoring totals rebounded after a down year and the league’s fan base showed signs of growth, according to ESPN.
UFL co-owner Mike Repole said he plans to press ahead with expansion beyond the current eight teams and voiced a commitment to keep the league operating, telling ESPN he would rather face personal bankruptcy than close the UFL. Repole described his first year as an “internship to sports league ownership” and said he is treating the offseason as a learning period for improvements, according to ESPN.
League officials will evaluate each market after the United Bowl and Repole said there is about an 80% chance the UFL will retain all eight local markets. The league has announced expansion to Oklahoma City in 2028 and Repole listed other possible landing spots that have expressed interest, including New England, Austin, Raleigh, Queens, New Mexico, Greenville or Charleston, Utah and Boise, according to ESPN. Repole also engaged with fans online during the season as Birmingham’s attendance fell 16% from 2025 to 2026, ESPN reported.
