According to a report by Ben Fischer at Sports Business Journal, the UFL plans to put more money behind staff and marketing at the team level in St. Louis and Washington. Both clubs lost fans at the gate in 2026.
The Battlehawks drew 23,257 per game, a 21% drop from last season. The Defenders drew about 9,000, down 31%. League business head Mike Repole, who took over daily operations in July 2025, said he pulled funding from those two clubs to pay for the launches in Louisville, Columbus and Orlando.
Repole apologized to fans in both cities:
"I owe both an apology, but I hope they'll understand that I did it so the St. Louis Battlehawks can be there for the next 40 years, and that I did this so the D.C. Defenders can be there for the next 40 years."
He said the 2027 budgets in both markets will top what those teams have worked with in the past:
"St. Louis and D.C. will have more resources than they did the previous five years. Local staff, payroll, interns, agencies, more field marketing, getting the players out there around town."
The UFL also pulled out of Houston and Birmingham in July 2026. Repole has pointed to the stadium problem in Birmingham, where the 47,000-seat Protective Stadium is far bigger than UFL crowds and no mid-sized option exists. Houston was a different story. That club changed buildings three times and carried two different names across five seasons:
"If there was ever a [class] on how not to run a sports league team in that market, I think the United Football League, everyone can use our example. I take ownership there."
The league has not named the two markets that will replace them. Repole has set a target of 16 teams by 2035.
Read the full report at Sports Business Journal.