As the UFL continues its planning for the 2027 season, it’s reflecting on some of the failures from 2026.
Co-owner Mike Repole acknowledges that the franchises in St. Louis and D.C. saw significant drops in attendance due to the allocation of resources to new UFL markets.
“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,” Repole told Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal.
“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.”
In St. Louis, the average attendance dropped 21 percent to 23,257. In D.C., attendance declined by 31 percent, to roughly 9,000.
Moving forward, the Battlehawks and Defenders will get more resources.
“St. Louis and D.C. will have more resources than they did the previous five years,” Repole told Fischer. “Local staff, payroll, interns, agencies, more field marketing, getting the players out there around town.”
Repole was also candid about the state of the UFL when he got involved.
“I mean, the league was in a four-year downslide,” Repole said. “I mean, we were probably 500 feet from hitting the ocean. And we kind of leveled the plane right now. I always talk about fixing and flying the plane. Last year was a complete fixing the plane. It was a complete fixing the plane.”
It remains to be seen whether the UFL is fully fixed, and whether it will fly at an acceptable altitude. It’s doing well relative to some other live sports events, and the costs have been manageable. But where is the upside?
Repole is committed to figuring that out, while also (after last year) taking better care of the markets where the UFL is performing at a solid level.
