UFL Adds Salt Lake City as 10th Team, Set for 2028 Kickoff
The short version
- UFL announced Salt Lake City as its 10th team, with play beginning in 2028 at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
- The franchise is a new addition, not a replacement for Birmingham or Houston, which cease operations after the 2026 season.
- Colorado and Rhode Island join in 2027; Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City launch in 2028.
- UFL attendance averaged 10,416 per game through eight weeks of 2026, down 14.3 percent from 2025.
- The team's name and branding have not yet been revealed.
The spring league will place a new franchise at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, starting in 2028, with the name and branding still to come.
The United Football League is expanding to the Salt Lake Valley. League co-owner Mike Repole announced the move on ESPN early Wednesday, confirming the new franchise will start play in 2028 and serve as a genuine addition rather than a replacement for a discontinued market.
The club will play its home games at America First Field, the roughly 20,000-seat venue in Sandy that currently hosts Real Salt Lake and the Royals and is owned by the Larry H. Miller family. According to UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon, talks with city officials began last November after the league sought proposals from prospective expansion markets, followed by a tour of about a dozen candidate sites after June's championship game. No local ownership group is part of the deal, though Brandon credited Miller Sports + Entertainment, Royals President John Kimball and Real Salt Lake GM Justin Nelson for their roles in forming the team.
Salt Lake City is one of five markets joining the UFL over the next two seasons, following new entries in Colorado and Rhode Island in 2027 and an Oklahoma City club also launching in 2028. The addition reaches the 10-team target Repole set for 2028, with the league aiming for 12 clubs by 2030 or possibly 2029.
The expansion arrives while spring football faces attendance pressure. Per Sports Business Journal, the UFL drew an average of 10,416 fans per game through eight weeks of the 2026 season, a 14.3 percent drop from 2025, with St. Louis down 22.5 percent and D.C. down 32.6 percent. New 2026 markets Columbus, Louisville and Orlando performed better locally, with champion Louisville averaging 11,195 fans over five home dates.
Brandon said the league left previous markets including Memphis, Detroit, San Antonio and Birmingham largely because of venue size, calling the Sandy stadium a critical factor in the choice. A year-round local staff will be built in Salt Lake City, and the team's name and branding will be announced at a later date.
