UFL changes 3 cities as new
investor shares bullish vision for spring football
[October 08, 2025]
By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mike Repole isn't daunted or discouraged by
the long odds facing pro spring football as a business model.
The sports business entrepreneur is simply wired a bit differently,
and wants to show it as the newest investor in the young United
Football League.
“If you told me something was a 99% chance, I’d have no interest,”
said Repole, who is in charge of the UFL's business operations. “But
if you tell me it was a 1% chance, I’d be super excited by it.
That’s how my mind works.”
The league is set next year to join the USFL from the mid-1980s as
the longest-running spring league at three seasons, with plenty of
failed attempts since then. And the UFL is making some changes.
The league announced Tuesday that three of the eight teams are
changing cities. Orlando, Florida, is in along with Columbus, Ohio,
and Louisville, Kentucky. San Antonio, Detroit and Memphis,
Tennessee, are out.
Those three moves are part of a larger strategy to get into smaller
stadiums. All three of the new venues are soccer stadiums with
capacities of about 20,000 or smaller.
The remaining Texas teams are changing names and stadiums.
The Arlington team is now the Dallas Renegades and will move from
the former home of baseball's Texas Rangers to the Major League
Soccer home of FC Dallas in nearby Frisco. In Houston, the
Roughnecks will become the Gamblers and play in that city's MLS
stadium instead of the University of Houston's home field.
“It’s going to feel real, real different, and it’s going to show
better on TV,” Repole said. “The sound is going to be better, and
the experience and the engagement is going to be better.”
League headquarters will remain near Arlington's Globe Life Park,
the stadium the Renegades are leaving, and the hub model of all
eight teams practicing in the Dallas area during the week won't
change. However, Repole says some players will spend more time in
their host cities to try to boost fan engagement.
The other three existing markets are St. Louis, which has been the
league's attendance darling; Washington, D.C.; and Birmingham,
Alabama.
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Birmingham Stallions quarterback J'Mar Smith, front right, collects
the snap during the first half of a USFL football game against the
Philadelphia Stars for the league championship, Sunday, July. 3,
2022, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)
Repole, who co-founded Vitaminwater, Smartwater and
BodyArmor and sold those brands to Coca-Cola, is encouraged by the
UFL's ratings, saying they compare favorably to regular-season games
in the NHL, NBA and MLB.
The 56-year-old is all in on the UFL as a developmental arm of the
NFL. There are several success stories among the reincarnated
versions of the XFL and USFL, which merged to form the UFL in 2024.
Two of them are playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Brandon Aubrey has
become one of the NFL's best kickers, and receiver KaVontae Turpin
was an All-Pro kick returner last season.
There is no formal developmental link between the NFL and UFL, and
Repole doesn't think there needs to be. The UFL reportedly went
through some labor unrest last season, and Repole's developmental
vision touches on that topic.
“If they have the drive and the passion and they want to make the
NFL, and that’s their dream, then we want to help them,” Repole
said. “But if they’re looking for, ‘Hey, where’s my next check, or
am I going to play next year?’ then this is probably not the league
for you. And if you’re in this league four or five years, you
probably shouldn’t be here. You should probably go into coaching or
do something else.”
Repole believes the league can sell out stadiums in smaller venues,
and he hopes to double the size of the league to 16 teams by the
mid-2030s. He gets the skepticism as he joins a group that includes
RedBird Capital Partners, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia,
FOX and ESPN.
“I think all the stars are aligned for football to be a dominant
year-round sport, and we just want to fill the void of spring
football,” said Repole, who also owns race horses. “It’s a big
investment and it’s a big bet, and the league, the investor group
and I are up to the challenge.”
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