The UFL selects the location of its championship game during each season. In 2024 and 2025, the UFL picked St. Louis.
This year, the UFL is going to D.C.
“Washington, D.C. is built for big moments — and the 2026 United Bowl will be exactly that,” UFL co-owner Mike Repole said in a release. “This is the pinnacle of spring football, where energy, intensity, and fans collide. Audi Field will deliver a championship atmosphere worthy of the stage.”
The selection undoubtedly constitutes a hedge regarding whether the team that plays in the stadium will qualify for the game. In St. Louis, the local team (the Battlehawks) didn’t make it.
Last year, the D.C. Defenders won it all. And they’re currently 3-1. So there’s a good chance the Defenders will get a chance to pursue a second straight title.
If they do, it’s more likely to be filled. If they don’t, it will be harder to sell out the stadium.
For now, Defenders season-ticket holders get the first crack at buying tickets to the game. And the UFL is surely hoping that they’ll also essentially bet they’ll be buying tickets for a de facto home game.
How about this as another approach. Give the team with the best record home-field advantage for the championship.
It’s not like staging a Super Bowl. The locations of the NFC and AFC Championship games are set every year on seven or eight days’ notice. And those games are much bigger than the UFL championship.
Who cares if one team gets an edge? They earned it by having the best record in the league. And if the home team can’t fill up the home stadium for the championship game, the UFL should move the team to a city more likely to pull it off.
Read the full article here
