Rhode Island is set to join the Orlando Storm and D.C. Defenders in the United Football League (PHOTO: UFL)
By KEVIN McNAMARA
There will soon be another type of football played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket.
The United Football League is announcing an expansion franchise in Rhode Island that will begin play next spring. The Rhode Island team will play its home games at the Rhode Island FC’s three-year old stadium with the inaugural home game already scheduled for Friday, April 2, at 8 p.m. on FOX Sports. The team name, colors, logos, and brand identity for Rhode Island will be unveiled at Centreville Bank Stadium on October 18.
The United Football League is a professional American football league that plays its games in the spring and early summer. The league was created following a merger with the XFL and started play in March of 2024. The league has strong financial backing with lead investor Mike Repole, who owns a home in Narragansett and is noted for his backing of St. John’s basketball. Impact Capital, RedBird Capital Partners, Fox Sports, ESPN, Dany Garcia and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson are also significant investors.
The UFL currently has six franchises: Columbus (Oh.), Dallas, Louisville, Orlando, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. The games are held in stadiums that sit between 10,000-20,000 and some are principally professional soccer stadiums similar to Centreville Bank Stadium. The stadium has hosted football games and is scheduled to hold Brown’s game against Harvard this Friday and all of the University of Rhode Island’s 2026 home games.
“We are incredibly excited to bring professional football to Centreville Bank Stadium and to Rhode Island in 2027,” Paul Byrne, General Manager of Centreville Bank Stadium, said in a statement. “There is tremendous energy around sports in the Ocean State, and we’re proud to continue establishing Centreville Bank Stadium as a premier destination for major sporting and entertainment events. Bringing professional football to Pawtucket is another exciting milestone for our venue and for Rhode Island, and our team can’t wait to welcome fans from across the state and deliver an unforgettable game-day experience.”
Rhode Island is one of two new markets joining the UFL for the 2027 season. There will also be a new team in Colorado Springs, Col., while Utah and Oklahoma will join the league in 2028. Colorado will play at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Utah at America First Field in Sandy, and Oklahoma at the new MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium in Oklahoma City.
“Knowing the Rhode Island market, living in South County, I spend the month of July down there,” Repole said, “made me very familiar with the market. The stadium was one of the reasons why. It really is state-of-the-art. There is not a bad seat there. Football is going to play so great in that stadium. I did tell the guys at Rhode Island FC ‘you might need five thousand more seats.’ Excited, the market is great.”
United Football League teams play a 10 game regular season, plus playoffs. That would lock in at least five football games at Centreville Bank Stadium, all of which take place on national TV partners Fox or ESPN.
The UFL owns the freedom to experiment with rules and game presentation. This year the league introduced the 4-point 60-plus-yard field goal, allowing only one foot inbounds on catches and the elimination of the Tush Push, The league has provided a pathway to the pathway to the NFL, with 118 former UFL players in NFL Training Camps, ultimately leading to 46 UFL players on current NFL active rosters or practice squads.
“2026 was an incredible year for the UFL, and seeing the response from our fans, players, and partners has made what comes next even more exciting,” UFL Co-Owner Mike Repole said in a statement. “There is a real energy around this league right now, and we’re thrilled to bring that energy to four new markets. We said in July that our next step was finding the right markets, venues, and fan bases where we can work with local leaders to build the strongest franchises for today and for the future, and we believe Colorado, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Utah represent those qualities. We’re thankful to the local leaders and partners who
believed in this vision and have helped us get here. We can’t wait to see these markets come to life and the best part is that this is just the beginning.”
