UFL Live - United Football League News and Fan Forum

Okay, it’s not as big as when Walt Disney announced they were moving into the swampland outside of Orlando, but it is big news that United Football League has told the Orlando Sentinel that a team will be coming to The City Beautiful.
 

Currently, the UFL has secured four team owners and will release the names later this month. No one has made the $60 million commitment to purchase an Orlando team, but Huyghue said there are several interested parties outside Florida. Huyghue said the UFL is highly interested to make Orlando the centerpiece for the league with mini-camp being hosted here next May, training camp in July and an all-star game here as well.

Sounds good to me.

I need to email the article’s author because it mentions a few facts that are counter to what I’ve heard from my sources. First is the $60 million figure mentioned above. I had heard that $30 million was the buy in with another $30 million coming in the form of an IPO for the fans, but that some owners were pushing for $60 million and cutting out the fans. That may be the new business model for all teams.

Also mentioned in the Sentinel article was the number 12. As in twelve teams to start the league. I had heard, and the league has been saying all along, that it would start with eight teams. Has this changed? If so, that’s news.

Either way, it’s nice to see the Orlando Sentinel doing some coverage of the league’s prospects in the town.

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.

Just a quick bit of housekeeping. If you happen to live in the Orlando, Florida area and are interested in learning how you can help bring a UFL team to The City Beautiful, please drop me a line. Thanks!

(Note: graphic is for illustrative purposes only and not official)