United Football League Reveals Team markets and Head Coaches for the 2024 Season

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

The Orlando Guardians are now the seventh pro football failure for that market.....think they're feeling the burnout?

Orlando seems to be a weird case. They will only support a team if it's good. That's more of the reason why the Rage and Apollos drew well but the Guardians didn't. That, and the totally haphazard way the Guardians brand was forced upon that team (I mean, why not bring back the Rage and give some credibility?). Orlando was just badly handled from the start and would've been far better if they had gone with a more market-appropriate brand. You'd want to be in Florida—it's a business-friendly state with a lot of people with money who are into football—but which city would be a challenge. I know the Stars Football League made a go of it in Fort Lauderdale, which would be interesting. But other than that, it's Tampa (which the Vipers didn't do great), Orlando (see above), or maybe Jacksonville (now that would be interesting, given it has literally no other major sporting competition and would be a great legacy USFL market).

As for Seattle... I think it's complicated. They had poor scheduling, bad weather, and then the NHL released the Kraken in the interim. What was a great market in 2020 suddenly looks less certain in 2023 and 2024. I'm thinking Tacoma. Like Arlington, Oakland, or New Jersey, you could build that unique metro identity while still tapping into that metro, plus they have two ideal sized (if somewhat dated) venues in the Stadium Bowl and Tacoma Dome (I'd suggest the latter). I think a Tacoma Sea Dragons would be a big hit if done right. BUT... I'd like to see them find a way to make California work and establish a West Coast hub to keep travel expenses down.

[Sounder]

I'd like to point out about the Tacoma Dome,. they do play high school games in there, but with a 100 yard gridiron, it would have seating for about 100 people.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

I'd like to point out about the Tacoma Dome,. they do play high school games in there, but with a 100 yard gridiron, it would have seating for about 100 people.

I'm not sure exactly what their modular capacity is. I know it's not the 21,000 listed on Wikipedia, but even so, you're still talking at least a Cashman-sized venue, and one that has a dome and could be turfed with something that looked better on TV than Cashman did (lol).

But that's me being me.

[Lone Star]

Why couldn't Husky Stadium (or other large college venues like Oklahoma Stadium for an OKC team) be an option? Especially if the team commits to signing a certain number of U-Dub and Wazzou players? Seattle is a great sports city and with better scheduling and weather could draw 20K+ again I think. If the Dragons are included in the first round of expansion, maybe Portland, another great sports city, could be next. Maybe the Timbers won't allow them to use their stadium, but Hillsboro Stadium has plenty of room for an expansion to 20K+ seats.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Why couldn't Husky Stadium (or other large college venues like Oklahoma Stadium for an OKC team) be an option? Especially if the team commits to signing a certain number of U-Dub and Wazzou players? Seattle is a great sports city and with better scheduling and weather could draw 20K+ again I think. If the Dragons are included in the first round of expansion, maybe Portland, another great sports city, could be next. Maybe the Timbers won't allow them to use their stadium, but Hillsboro Stadium has plenty of room for an expansion to 20K+ seats.

1, parking on college campuses tends to be a major headache. 2, a lot of colleges tend to not like sharing their facilities. I mean, that's the very reason there IS a Husky Stadium still, and they're not sharing a field with the Seahawks.

[4th&long]

The Pacific time zone accounts for only 16.7% of the US population, 30% of which is LA.
Mountain is 6%+ ,combined its less that 24%.

The league should focus its efforts on the NE and FL where the bulk of people reside. NE is expensive but NYC area alone is 6.2% of US tv households. FL is where FB rules and is low cost to operate.

The issue with Orlando is they've been burned. AAF then XFL now nothing. AAF Apollo's had Steve Spurier as a HC and was a draw.
When ready to expand - likely 2026 at earliest, both TB and Orlando will be in play.

[Rmbay]

When it comes to expansion, I think there's definitely 3 areas they're looking at- Florida, NY and the West Coast, particularly California. NY and California are rather expensive and may be no-go's until and unless the league is on steady ground and there are solid investors/ownership groups. Florida may be quicker to return. Then you also have the question of investor money and ownership groups. You could see a franchise move or a different western city emerge if an investor/ownership group wants a team there. It's all going to be very fluid.

[GDAWG]

The Pacific time zone accounts for only 16.7% of the US population, 30% of which is LA.
Mountain is 6%+ ,combined its less that 24%.

The league should focus its efforts on the NE and FL where the bulk of people reside. NE is expensive but NYC area alone is 6.2% of US tv households. FL is where FB rules and is low cost to operate.

The issue with Orlando is they've been burned. AAF then XFL now nothing. AAF Apollo's had Steve Spurier as a HC and was a draw.
When ready to expand - likely 2026 at earliest, both TB and Orlando will be in play.

NE should be Philly and NYC Area and maybe Pittsburgh if the league can secure Acrisure, but my darkhorse in the area is Baltimore. A DMV rivalry with the Defenders could be a lot of fun and eventually the league will need more close area rivalries besides the three Texas teams. I don't know if Boston can ever work in the UFL. I put them alongside Denver in that category (I don't know if they can work in spring football).

[MGB01]

Why couldn't Husky Stadium (or other large college venues like Oklahoma Stadium for an OKC team) be an option? Especially if the team commits to signing a certain number of U-Dub and Wazzou players? Seattle is a great sports city and with better scheduling and weather could draw 20K+ again I think. If the Dragons are included in the first round of expansion, maybe Portland, another great sports city, could be next. Maybe the Timbers won't allow them to use their stadium, but Hillsboro Stadium has plenty of room for an expansion to 20K+ seats.

Husky Stadium hasn't hosted a pro game since the Seahawks' 2001 finale and obviously none since the 2012 renovation (which oddly enough sent the Dawgs to Lumen).

Plus if you're gonna do the UW/WSU component you're better off staying at Lumen, which is not only hosting the Apple Cup Sept 14 but Wazzu also played a game there from 2002-14 (sans 2013)--sort of a central location for both alumni (why Lumen gets the AC first before it goes to a home-and-home series)

[Rmbay]

The Pacific time zone accounts for only 16.7% of the US population, 30% of which is LA.
Mountain is 6%+ ,combined its less that 24%.

The league should focus its efforts on the NE and FL where the bulk of people reside. NE is expensive but NYC area alone is 6.2% of US tv households. FL is where FB rules and is low cost to operate.

The issue with Orlando is they've been burned. AAF then XFL now nothing. AAF Apollo's had Steve Spurier as a HC and was a draw.
When ready to expand - likely 2026 at earliest, both TB and Orlando will be in play.

NE should be Philly and NYC Area and maybe Pittsburgh if the league can secure Acrisure, but my darkhorse in the area is Baltimore. A DMV rivalry with the Defenders could be a lot of fun and eventually the league will need more close area rivalries besides the three Texas teams. I don't know if Boston can ever work in the UFL. I put them alongside Denver in that category (I don't know if they can work in spring football).

Even though a rivalry would be fun Balt and DC are roughly a half an hour away from each other and in essentially the same market. I don't think it's the best use of market expansion when you're dealing with a limited amount of teams. Most of the other teams, including the Texas teams, are a good 3-4 hours away from each other. It's also why I think it's either NY or Philly at the moment, but probably not both.

I think if this league takes hold and eventually grows like MLS has done then I think that's when you start seeing markets closer to each other. But I'm not sure that happens before this league expands to at least 12-16 teams.