United Football League Expanding to Oklahoma City in 2028

The groundbreaking for the new stadium is scheduled to take place in June. (Courtesy United Football League)

Oklahoma City is home to the reigning NBA champions, the increasingly popular Women’s College World Series in softball and will host softball and canoe slalom in the 2028 Summer Olympics. That same year the town will have another point of sporting pride with the birth of an expansion team in the United Football League.

The yet-to-be-named organization will be one of two expansion teams expected to start play in the fifth season of the UFL, which kicked off its third season last week with eight teams. The league launched in 2024 as the merger of the XFL and the United States Football League. Five teams remain from that inaugural season: the Birmingham Stallions, Dallas Renegades (formerly known as the Arlington Renegades), Houston Gamblers (formerly known as the Roughnecks), St. Louis Battlehawks and D.C. Defenders. Previous teams in Detroit, Memphis and San Antonio folded after last season and were replaced by new clubs in Columbus, Louisville and Orlando.

The league has designs on growing to 16 teams by 2035.

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The new team in Oklahoma City will play at a new downtown venue: MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium, which is currently under development by Populous and is scheduled to open in 2028 with a capacity of just over 10,000. The groundbreaking will be held in June.

“Oklahoma lives and breathes football, so bringing the UFL to Oklahoma City was an easy decision,” said UFL co-owner Mike Repole., the founder of Vitaminwater and BodyArmor who took a significant stake in the league last summer. “This is a state that shows up, cares deeply, and truly understands the game. From college powerhouses to Friday night lights, football runs deep here. We’re committed to building a franchise in OKC that the entire state can rally behind.”

The team’s name, branding and colors will be unveiled at a later date.

“Oklahoma City has long been one of the most glaring vacancies on the professional football map,” said UFL President & CEO Russ Brandon. “The combination of a new stadium, deep-rooted football culture, and a city that has proven its ability to support major league sports makes this an easy decision.”

Oklahoma has had a smattering of pro football teams in its past, including the Oklahoma Outlaws in the original USFL and the Oklahoma Wranglers in the Arena Football League, neither of which stayed in existence very long. The Wranglers played in Oklahoma City at what is now known as the Myriad Convention Center. The new stadium will be located across the street from Paycor Center, home to the 2026 NBA champion Thunder.

“Oklahoma City welcomes the UFL to our championship city!” said David Holt, mayor of Oklahoma City. “We love sports and we love football, so we think this should be a great fit. We have always said that the MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium opens up new opportunities for our city, and this is a perfect example.”

The UFL kicked off its third season on Friday, March 27. It will run for 10 weeks, with the top four teams reaching the playoffs and the championship game taking place on Saturday, June 13, a 10-week regular season followed by playoffs featuring the four best teams, which will compete to play in the 2026 UFL Championship Game on Saturday, June 13.