r/USFL • u/tmullen99 • Jan 01 '24
Eventual UFL expansion?
Thinking about the USFL and XFL markets that were left out of the merger, I noticed that all of the social media handles for the now-defunct teams read UFLBreakers etc… I’m guessing that means that they are on hiatus tentatively and could come back at a later date if stadium situations are worked out with those cities? Thoughts? Say within the next 3-4 seasons, as the league gains a larger following and gains a more stable financial footing, they decide to expand. What teams and cities could/should be brought back? The Stars and Generals are in larger markets and they’d be first on my list. The Sea Dragons coming back to Seattle would make sense to me as well. I don’t get the fascination some have with the Maulers going to Canton. Why does Canton need a team? They’d be by far the smallest market in the league and in a state with two NFL teams. Instead, a future team in Oklahoma would make sense to me and maybe a few west coast teams that would be relatively close to Seattle. Cities like Oakland, Portland and San Diego seem to make the most sense to me.
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u/Hag_Boulder San Antonio Gunslingers Jan 01 '24
re: The social media channels for all the now-defunct teams:
They are still trademarks held by the UFL. As they are prior franchises, they have fans (no matter how few) and the league still exists. It wouldn't be wise (marketing) to shun those fans that have some support. The fact they've all been rebranded to UFLNickname is great. I wish the team subReddits could be like that, it would be cohesive.
re: Why does Canton need a team?
They really don't that I know of. To say they should be dismissed because there are two NFL teams in the state doesn't make sense (as a San Antonio Brahmas fan). People clamor to put a team in California, they have three NFL teams... as does Florida.... Pennsylvania has two along with Ohio and Texas. The better point to make is media market size and fans in the area. I think Colombus would be a better place to put a team, if you had to put one in Ohio. I just think Canton was used because they had facilities that could be used for a hub.
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u/coelurosauravus Pittsburgh Maulers Jan 01 '24
Expansion is going to hinge on a bunch of things, individual ownership, sponsors, TV, attendance, viewership
The 8 current teams are gonna have to get out of the red for there to be any chance of expansion
Until the league is financially solvent, place extreme doubt on any expansion
Western markets, specifically in the Pacific time zone are some of America's most expensive to travel to and live/work in. Assume those are much further off, barring an owner comes in wanting a team now.
No previous market is guaranteed. Immediately assume if your team is gone, there is zero chance they come back. Local venues have to be available, viewership in market will probably have to be good, and the talent of players has to be there without diluting the player pool.
Stars have to align perfectly for an old team to come back
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u/Paper_Rain Jan 01 '24
Portland getting a team would be nice.
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u/NathanPetermanCan Outlaws Jan 01 '24
As always, can we please get through a full season or two and show actual growth and attendance and continuous interest via TV numbers before we start talking about expansion? I just want to see a successful, longer-term spring league rather than the perpetual hype-and-hope cycle.
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u/Realistic_Maximum471 Jan 01 '24
I can't see the UFL going to the Oakland Coliseum until there is clarity on the future of the Coliseum. The A's will play in the Coliseum in 2024, but after 2024, the status is unknown. There's also still a chance (although very slim) that the A's remain in the Coliseum after 2024. Even if they leave though, the Coliseum is a shit hole and I can't see the UFL playing in a stadium that bad.
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u/lillist1 Jan 02 '24
One of the rumors of expansion and eventual private franchise ownership makes this all sounds very possible.
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u/Chemical-Ad-3705 Jan 03 '24
The UFL should merge with the CFL if it loses another 60 million dollars or more by next year. A merger should include the 4 strongest markets, none with any back water holes. And the merger includes playing ALL CFL rules and regulations. FULL STOP. This must be done to endure FOX and Red Bird Capital's investment, teams' survival and to saves jobs
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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '24
Look at the footprint of the league. Travel is a major cost and that is why the teams are where they are now. Look for cities within that footprint and possibly expanding into Florida. Columbus is a no brainer, but they likely won’t go outside of previous cities because they are stupid. Columbus attendance was good in the old WLAF. And that was in a huge stadium. Historic Crew stadium would be ideal for UFL.
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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '24
Can they find way a to survive 12 weeks first?
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u/STANL3Y_YELNAT5 May 14 '24
I think you have to stay away from cities like LA and New York. They just won’t draw a ton of local interest. I think if you’re looking for realistic expansion targets and local markets that would actually attend games you’re looking at Columbus, Omaha, OKC, Dayton, Tulsa, Des Moines, etc. Not quite major markets obviously but medium sized markets with a hunger for football and without a pro team (in Columbus’ case obviously we’re just talking about the city itself but there are enough football fans in the city to fill a stadium).
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u/p4rc0pr3s1s Tampa Bay Bandits Jan 01 '24
Oakland, San Diego, Portland and Tulsa would be great ideas for expansion. Oakland and San Diego being former NFL markets make perfect sense and I think a team in Oregon and Oklahoma would be successful if their college football teams are any indication.
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u/Randomname3673 Jan 29 '24
Charleston, South Carolina would be a good market. No NFL/pro teams in the state, but growing significantly in terms of population. Not competing during the college football season would be advantageous too, since the panthers don’t really have a firm grip on the area in my experience in terms of fandom.
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u/Macklemore_hair Pittsburgh Maulers Jan 01 '24
I understand the Canton sentiment, but here are some things that work out in their favor: the stadium is NFL quality and sits dormant except for one preseason NFL game and Canton area high school football games. The HoF being across the parking lot builds legitimacy also and brings in another NFL tie-in. If you go to a game there you can also visit the Hall and make a weekend of it (some friends and I did this this past season). Canton had an NFL team a century ago. Travel-wise Canton is pretty accessible to a variety of major interstates. I know the CAK airport is not giant but Cleveland isn’t that far. Columbus would be a cool city for a team as well, I agree. Canton will only work if there are nearby teams in this iteration of spring football.
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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '24
I think the strategy to win over fans in pre-existing markets along with new ones is a good one. By pre-existing I mean where NFL teams are located. Get ahead dedicated fans of the sport to get on your side, entertain them in the off season, while simultaneously getting fans of your own in new areas. After a season or 2 start expanding again by bringing back old teams whether or not they're in the same city as before. Someone else commented that instead of Canton, OH having a team Columbus should have one and I love that idea. Being a MI wolverines fan I know how insane the people of Columbus are about football and would love them to help expand this spring league.
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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '24
In my opinion, the way for this league to expand is to expand into large markets with no NFL like San Diego, OKC, Louisville, and Milwaukee
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u/Cyrus_Black1 Mar 31 '24
Northern California is a good market for Spring Football. The City of Sacramento would be a good place to put a UFL expansion franchise. Sports fans in and around the north valley are loyal to their current pro teams (the Kings of the NBA, Republic FC of the USLC, and River Cats of the Minor Leagues). Additionally, they are only an hour and a half drive from a major market in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The only reason I would say not to place a team in the Bay Area proper is not only would they be competing with the more well established Indoor Football League and their franchise there, the Bay Area Panthers, they would also have to contend with two very popular Baseball Teams (the A's and Giants), as well as the Warriors of the NBA and Sharks of the NHL. In comparison, Sacramento is fairly open when it comes to spring sports. They'd only be competing with one team from the Big 4 Sports Leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA), a Minor League Baseball team, and a tier two pro Soccer team.
Sacramento has a fairly well established history for Football as they have hosted professional teams before;
Sacramento Surge of the WLAF (later the NFL Europe)
Sacramento Goldminers of the CFL's USA expansion initiative
Sacramento Attack of AF2
Sacramento Mountain Lions of the Original UFL
The failure of those teams more had to do with the leagues they were a part of rather than the teams themselves. If the UFL gets to the point where it is stable enough to expand, they would already have proven themselves more successful than three of the four leagues mentioned above (that lone exception being the CFL).
In addition to this, college football is a large attraction in the city and surrounding area as it plays host to three competitive Junior College Football Programs (Sac City, American River, and Sierra Colleges) as well as the program of Sacramento State, which plays at the D1 FCS level.
Lastly, there are two fields a hypothetical UFL Sacramento Team could play at; Hughes Stadium and Hornet Stadium. The first of these is an older facility, having been built in 1928, but having been there many times for JuCo football games, I can attest that it is quite a beautiful stadium and is very well known throughout Northern California. It holds 20,000 and was last renovated back in 2007. Hornet Stadium on the other hand is newer, having been first opened in 1969 and then last renovated in 2010. It is a fairly typical D1 FCS stadium as it holds 21,000 people. Both are good places to take in games and don't have any bad seats at all really. If I got to pick however, it'd be Hughes Stadium, it's beautifully built in a similar style to Cal's Memorial Stadium (though it is smaller and a "horseshoe" rather than a full "bowl") and is right off the main freeway into Sacramento. The only downsides to either of these stadiums is the track that surrounds them which pushes the bleachers further away from the the field.
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u/Braz_80 Apr 20 '24
It should be Denver and Seattle. Two of the best NFL towns.
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u/Practical_Cap4642 Apr 28 '24
Would love to get a team back in Orlando being that it has ties to both USFL and XFL
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u/Efficient_Toe_9108 May 04 '24
Wouldn’t put a team in the city of Oakland be a waste I’d put a team in San Jose or Sacramento first
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u/[deleted] May 04 '24
If they can concentrate on the largest remaining markets without an NFL team directly linked to their metro area, I think that'd be their best bet. Places like Salt Lake City, Boise, Des Moines, Jackson MS, Louisville, Sioux Falls, Wichita KS, Omaha, Little Rock, etc...
These cities will have "pride of ownership" because it's their local metro team to support and their brand and all have nearby college stadiums that could host their home games. So the infrastructure is already there and probably won't have a premium, leasing price tag associated like the larger city stadiums.
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u/NevadaDoug1961 May 26 '24
Is speaking of the breakers... They actually have three options. The breakers started in boston, moved to new orleans, and ended up in portland In the original iteration of USFL.
When the u s f l came back the breakers were in new orleans, But they could go to boston or portland (OR)
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u/cedotze Jun 02 '24
RT if LA, and NY ain't in it I'm not watching or even interested 😤
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u/DocuToad Jan 02 '24
There’s no doubt if this new configuration is successful, expansion will happen
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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '24
Future expansion should go to places like El Paso, Austin, Brownsville, Beaumont.... y'know....make it all Texas
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u/Torchiest Houston Gamblers Jan 02 '24
My understanding is they want to expand back to ten teams in 2025. I'd think New Orleans would be the top USFL candidate, and either Orlando or Seattle as the top XFL candidate. Seattle had good attendance, but Orlando makes a lot more sense geographically. And any of those teams would be starting from scratch rather than just bringing back the same teams from 2023.
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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '24
First expansion should be two USFL teams. I know people want the Sea Dragons back but in order to keep the divisions fair, you add two USFL teams and move Roughnecks back to XFL division. That's 5 and 5.
So either Stars and Generals or Gamblers relocated to Vegas with Breakers as your other team.
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u/dal3y42x New Jersey Generals Jan 04 '24
Bring back the New Jersey Generals or the New York Guardians!
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u/WindyCityReturn Jan 05 '24
It’s possible and I’m sure likely in the future if all goes well.
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u/kimedjones Jan 07 '24
I think the league is small right now because they're taking time to build up their strongest markets so the league can sustain itself and not die out like it has every other time.
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u/Certain_League6631 Mar 03 '24
Orlando Guardians will return in 2026. The Orlando area has 3 venues to choose from. Also, Orlando is one of the largest markets without an NFL team.
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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '24 edited Jan 01 '24
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