UFL brings new pro football team to Colorado in 2027

Colorado Springs is getting a professional football team.

The United Football League announced Wednesday morning that Colorado Springs will be one of two new expansion markets joining the league for the 2027 spring season, alongside Rhode Island. The still-unnamed team will play home games at Weidner Field, the downtown stadium that currently hosts the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC soccer club, with the inaugural home game already locked in for Sunday, April 11 at 1 p.m. MT on ABC. The team name, colors, logo and full brand identity will be unveiled at a public event at Weidner Field on Oct. 25. Season ticket memberships are available now at theufl.com.

The UFL was formed in 2024 through the merger of the XFL and the USFL, and has quietly built itself into the most stable spring football league in modern memory, which, given the graveyard of spring football leagues that have come and gone, is saying something. The league currently fields six teams: the Columbus Aviators, Dallas Renegades, DC Defenders, Louisville Kings, Orlando Storm and St. Louis Battlehawks. Colorado Springs and Rhode Island will bring that total to eight in 2027, replacing Birmingham and Houston, while Utah and Oklahoma are set to join in 2028, pushing the league to 10 teams. It’s not the NFL, but 54 UFL players are currently on NFL rosters, including Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who started with the Birmingham Stallions. The league’s strategy is intentional: smaller venues, smaller markets near big cities and full stadiums. Colorado Springs instead of Denver. Rhode Island instead of Boston. Loud crowds, not half-empty 70,000-seat stadiums.

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade called it “a vote of confidence in our city and in what we have built downtown. A UFL team will put Colorado Springs in front of a national audience, bring fans to Weidner Field, and give southern Colorado a professional football team to call its own.” Switchbacks FC President Brad Estes added, “We are thrilled to partner with such a first-class organization and to welcome professional football to Colorado Springs.” For Broncos fans, the timing is perfect, the UFL season runs from late March through June, meaning the football never has to stop. When the Broncos wrap up, the Springs pick up. Mark Oct. 25 on your calendar for the name reveal, and April 11 for kickoff.