The UFL is making sweeping market changes in an effort to secure its survival, guided by one of its most outspoken investors.
This week, the UFL announced it will leave three markets: Michigan, Detroit, and San Antonio, surprising fans and signaling a strategic shift. The move aligns with investor Mike Repole’s push to downsize the league’s stadium footprint, focusing on smaller, fuller venues that create more energy and stronger optics for television audiences. For these three markets, there were no alternative venues that would match the new strategy.
The decision comes as the UFL struggles to keep its head above water. League-wide attendance dropped by five percent during the 2025 season, and television ratings took a significant dip. For a league still searching for stability, the numbers were another sign that change was overdue.
“When you have 14,000 fans in an arena that fits 60,000, it looks empty,” Repole said. “When you have 14,000 in a place that sits 15,000, it’s standing room only. Changing the optics is very important.”
Repole’s emphasis on “changing the optics” has become the foundation of the league’s new business plan. The UFL will focus on smaller venues which will ideally be between 15,000 and 25,000 seats. This should mean that fan engagement feels closer, louder, and more authentic. It’s a major but strategic shift away from playing in massive NFL-caliber stadiums that were rarely close to full.
Balancing Market Strategy and On-Field Results
While the new direction centers on business strategy, performance on the field hasn’t helped the UFL’s image either. The three departing franchises combined for just nine wins in 2025, and two of them finished near the bottom.
The Michigan Panthers were the bright spot, going 6-4. Even they struggled to fill Detroit’s 58,000-seat Ford Field. The San Antonio Brahmas endured a brutal 1-9 campaign. Likewise, the Memphis Showboats went 2-8 and finished last in attendance while playing at the 58,000-seat Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
For Repole and league executives, the decision to abandon those venues is less about punishing under performing teams and more about growing fan bases. The Brahmas were one of the UFL’s better-supported teams, but the 73,000-seat Alamodome made even strong crowds look sparse.
“We’re going to be aggressive as far as being nimble and scrappy and gritty and making aggressive moves,” Repole said in July. “If by 2035, if we can’t have 16 teams, I’m going to consider it a personal failure. This is it. Other leagues didn’t have the capital that this league has, didn’t have the media giants that this league has, didn’t have the entrepreneurs that this team has.”
What Comes Next
The UFL’s next phase will focus on markets where teams can create demand and energy by playing in appropriately sized venues. The league has already announced Columbus, Ohio, as one of its new homes, with two additional markets expected to be revealed soon. Early speculation points toward mid-sized cities and soccer-specific stadiums that better fit the league’s new model.
Still, the loss hits hard in cities like Detroit and San Antonio. Particularly, the Brahmas had become a source of local pride in a football-hungry city.
For the UFL, this marks a turning point that has yet to prove successful. After just three years of rebranding and restructuring, the league is acknowledging that survival won’t come from the size of its markets or stadiums. Instead, it will depend on the strength of its atmosphere and fan connection. Repole’s vision is smaller, louder, more intimate football which may be the best shot yet at ensuring the league’s future.
If it works, the UFL could finally achieve what so many spring football leagues before it couldn’t. That includes building fan loyalty, good football, and creating a successful league.
