Pro football is coming to Utah.

The United Football League announced Wednesday that a Utah franchise will join the league in 2028 as the UFL expands to 10 teams.

Utah and Oklahoma City will join the league in the 2028 season, while Rhode Island and Colorado will start playing in 2027.

Utah and Oklahoma City will be expansion franchises, while the current UFL teams in Houston and Birmingham will relocate to Colorado Springs and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The Utah team will play its home games at America First Field, home of Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC.

So why Utah?

“Number one, it starts with the right market, the right venue, and the right partner,” UFL president Russ Brandon told The Tribune. “The venue, America First Field, is fantastic and will be a great place to watch football.”

The league will own the Utah team, but will partner with the Larry H. Miller Co., which owns America First Field.

“[The Miller group] has been a tremendous resource in this process,” Brandon said. “And listen, we have great excitement about Salt Lake. There’s a strong regional opportunity for us there, and the professional sports footprint continues to grow in the marketplace.”

Brandon also highlighted Utah’s strong college football culture. BYU fans regularly pack the 62,073-seat LaVell Edwards Stadium, and there have been 98 straight sellouts at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

In short, there are a lot of football fans along the Wasatch Front.

So what will the team be called? That’s still to be determined.

Brandon said the league is still working on a team name, colors, logos, and brand identity, which will be announced at a later date.

This isn’t Utah’s first foray into spring pro football.

The Salt Lake Stallions were one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football, which began in February 2019 before the league folded in April 2019.

Spring football has a long history of ambitious launches and short life spans. Leagues such as the USFL, XFL and AAF have struggled to build lasting connections with even the most die-hard football fans.

Will the UFL be more stable?

The league began play in 2024 following the merger of the second versions of the XFL and USFL, and has shown signs of stability in its first three seasons.

The league has media deals with both Disney and FOX, and its television ratings increased in 2026. According to ESPN, regular-season ratings rose 8% on Disney networks and 5% on Fox Sports compared with 2025.

“There is a real energy around this league right now, and we’re thrilled to bring that energy to four new markets,” UFL co-owner Mike Repole said in a statement.

The Utah expansion team — like the other UFL teams — will train at the UFL hub in Arlington, Texas, and fly to Utah for its home games.

That said, the league plans to have a full-time staff in Salt Lake year-round and “hundreds of community events,” according to Brandon.

There may even be a time when the team’s operations are fully in Utah. The UFL has plans to expand to 16 teams by 2035, which could mean a transition out of the centralized hub format.

But one step at a time.

“We are thrilled to welcome the UFL to Utah and partner with the league as it brings its games to America First Field,” Michelle Smith, president of Miller Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement.

“We believe deeply in the power of sport to unite communities, create lasting memories and bring people together around a shared sense of pride. Together, we look forward to creating an incredible experience for fans throughout Utah.”