Over the past several months, there has been quite a bit of speculation surrounding expansion for the United Football League (UFL). With Mike Repole at the helm, the UFL has been more aggressive in exploring new markets, and the current plan is to try and get to 10 teams by 2028.
This past season, the UFL moved three teams. San Antonio, Memphis, and Michigan were relocated to Columbus, Louisville, and Orlando. Columbus and Louisville were home run hits, with outstanding fan engagement all year long. Additionally, Orlando showed growth and potential for the future.
That said, there’s no denying the large and passionate Michigan Panthers fanbase that was missed this year. The Panthers were the only team in the UFL to see average attendance increase in 2025, yet found themselves on the chopping block in the Repole era. Why? Well, Ford Field was simply too big and too expensive to play in.
With the United Football League unable to find a replacement venue in the Detroit area, they decided to put the pause button on the Michigan Panthers. It’s important to emphasize that it truly is a pause button – as leadership in the league would like to bring the franchise back, if they can find the right stadium.
Enter AlumniFi Field. What is poised to be the “Forever Home of Detroit Soccer” in Southwest Detroit is set to be constructed by spring of 2028, in time for Detroit City FC to participate in the USL season. The stadium will seat 15,000 fans – the perfect and ideal size for the UFL. We saw how good Lynn Family Stadium looked on TV this year, packing out the stands every single week.
Monday morning on July 13th brought some positive news in the developments of AlumniFi Field. In a quote directly from Detroit City FC:
“Jay Farner, founder and CEO of Ronin Capital Partners (Ronin), will be making the largest single investment in the club’s history through Ronin Sports & Entertainment Group, the sports investment division of Ronin. The catalytic investment will help fuel the construction of AlumniFi Field, accelerate the club’s transformational mixed-use development connecting Detroit’s Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods, and support Detroit City FC’s continued growth of the team. As part of the investment, Farner has joined the DCFC Holdings Board of Directors.”
This is incredible news for the future construction of AlumniFi Field, and might just move the needle for the UFL to enter back into Michigan. Right now, the league has announced Oklahoma City as an expansion market for 2028. The tenth city has not been announced, or decided upon, quite yet.
Heading back to Michigan would make sense. As long as this venue is completed prior to the UFL’s kickoff in 2028, there is an already established fanbase in the area – one that was growing at a rapid pace in 2025. The Panthers saw a home crowd of 16,000 people in their final week of existence. Having an investor such as Jay Farner putting some legitimate dollars into this project means that the likelihood of it being ready in time has certainly increased.
If the UFL can re-ignite that passion in downstate Michigan, it’s not unreasonable to expect crowds of 12,000+ in a 15k stadium every week.
“Michigan is a football market, they just didn’t have the venue. The venue and the stadium is just as important as the market. If you have 12,000 fans in a stadium that seats 75,000, it looks like 2,000. If you get 15,000 fans where they fit 20,000 – it looks packed. I will say this: there’s talk that Michigan is going to build a new stadium in 2028. If that stadium is built, I don’t mind bringing the Michigan Panthers back. And, I know what opening night will be. It would be Columbus at Michigan.” – UFL Co-Owner Mike Repole
Stay tuned for future updates from the United Football League when it comes to expansion.
What are your thoughts on a potential return for the Michigan Panthers to spring football? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
