The UFL opened it season this weekend with four games, and while Houston Gamblers-Dallas Renegades on Saturday “delivered excitement” on the field, the turnout “told a different story” with 8,870 in attendance at Toyota Stadium. It was an “underwhelming figure for a season opener and a rivalry matchup of this magnitude.” Toyota Stadium holds around 11,000 (NFL DRAFT DIAMONDS, 3/28).
The St. Louis Battlehawks drew a “jazzed-up crowd” of 31,191 to the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday for their opener against the D.C. Defenders. The Battlehawks led the UFL in attendance last season with an average of 29,537 per regular season games, including three games of more than 30,000. Rapper Nelly performed during halftime with the St. Lunatics (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/28).
The Birmingham Stallions defeated the Louisville Kings before 14,034 at Lynn Family Stadium on Friday. The stadium has a capacity of 15,304 (AL.com, 3/27).
The Orlando Storm will face the Columbus Aviators on Sunday night and in Orlando, Mike Bianchi wrote UFL owner Mike Repole is “investing in a city,” as he “moved his family and his parents to Orlando five years ago.” Repole has “already committed NIL money to UCF and has tried to talk school administrators into changing the name of the school to ‘University of Orlando.’” He talks about Orlando “not only as a serial entrepreneur, but as citizen who loves living” there. Bianchi: “I love the fact that Repole isn’t just positioning this endeavor as another spring football story; he’s turning it into an Orlando sports story.” If Orlando fans show up at Storm games this spring, it “sends a message” that “this isn’t a small-time market.” It “says this is a city that will support pro football -- especially with” the Jaguars expected to announce this week that they will play the 2027 season in Orlando while Jacksonville renovates its stadium (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/28).
