UFL Looking To Potentially Add New York Team
- Dominic Konareski
- May 4
- 2 min read
On Monday, April 27th, UFL owner Mike Repole appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and listed several potential expansion cities. One of Repole’s cities’ is the New York City market.
Repole also listed Austin, TX - Salt Lake City, UT - Omaha, NE and Albuquerque, NM. Seeing New York listed does not come at all as a surprise. When the XFL rebooted in 2019, the New York Guardians franchise was established and played their game at MetLife Stadium, which is also home to the New York Jets and Giants. The Guardians did not survive past the COVID-19 league shutdown and were relocated and rebranded to the Orlando Guardians.
When the USFL got revived post-COVID, the league brought back the New Jersey Generals. The Generals never played in New York, instead playing at one of the hub stadiums. New Jersey became defunct after the merger that created the UFL in 2023. Since then there have been no New York market football teams.
Overall, the cost of playing in New York came at a big tag. Former XFL owner Dwayne Johnson stated in a 2023 interview that the New York Guardians were relocated from New York to Orlando due to wanting to keep the costs low, as playing in the New York market (MetLife Stadium) was too expensive. The addition of low fan attendance in the few home games the Guardians did play did also play a factor as home game attendance took a sharp decline after New York’s Week 1 opener.
If the UFL was to bring spring football back to the New York market, it likely would be back at MetLife Stadium, as any other close-net football stadium options would be at the college level.
The UFL underwent a league shakeup after their 2024 season that saw the Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings and Orlando Storm established, with the Memphis Showboats, Michigan Panthers and San Antonio Brahmas going defunct widely due to low fan attendance despite mixed success.
At the time of this article there are no official plans for the UFL to add a New York team, let alone to expand in general. If the league does decide to add a New York team, it would open up an opportunity for northeast coast fans to enjoy spring football. The only options for spring football on the east coast are the DC Defenders and the Orlando Storm, which both reside over 200 miles away from Manhattan.
Nearly a year ago in May of 2025, the UFL filed a trademark for the defunct New Jersey Generals name. Along with the Generals, the league also filed for trademarks for three other teams: Oakland Invaders, Philadelphia Stars and the Tampa Bay Bandits. All of which are still yet to become a UFL team.
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