UFL Franchise Owner Roundup
Keeping in mind that nothing official has been announced
yet, here is what we know about potential owners of United
Football League teams.
- Mark Cuban is the only officially announced owner. But while everybody thinks he’ll end up owning the Las Vegas team, I’m hearing he’ll instead end up with the Los Angeles franchise.
- The Maloof family currently owns two professional basketball teams in Sacramento, CA (Kings and Monarchs). They also own the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. It’s likely that they’ll end up owning the Las Vegas franchise.
- The UFL team in Sacramento looks like it will be owned by league founder Bill Hambrecht. Teams in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas will give the league a strong west coast anchor to start.
- Islander’s owner Charles Wang is in line for the New York/Hoftsra location. With the Jets moving to a new stadium, Long Island is ripe for the picking and I don’t expect the UFL to pass that opportunity up.
- FEDEX founder Donald Smith has been mentioned as the owner of the Memphis, TN franchise.
- Charles Butts is a strong possibility for a San Antonio team. He’s the founder of HEB, a San Antonio based grocery chain. This is definitely an area of Texas that deserves a team.
That’s six teams. With one foreign team (Mexico City or London), that leaves a few cities fighting for the 8th and final team of the inaugural year. The two cities I hear that are on the top of the list are Raleigh and Orlando. If the foreign location doesn’t pan out both cities may get in.
If your city isn’t mentioned. Don’t give up. It may be that whatever city comes up with ownership and a fan base first wins the team. So it’s time to get serious.
Previously discussed here.