![\"ORLANDO,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2633f7330a9a74a0c55e05a936048dd1.jpeg\"\/)
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – MAY 03: Guard Samuel Jackson #73 of the Orlando Storm blocks during the game between the Orlando Storm and Birmingham Stallions at Inter&Co Stadium on May 03, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Dustin Markland\/UFL\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Schneider, a 27-year-old center, added: “From a football aspect, when you play with a guy for five years, you understand each other’s verbiage and how you see the game. It’s just easy to click in that way and to translate however many years later. Just picking up right where we left off.”<\/p>\n
The Storm went 8-2 during the regular season, clinching the UFL’s top seed and a home playoff game \u2014 an unexpected complication, given the unavailability of Inter&Co Stadium during mid-June. England and Costa Rica are set to meet in an international soccer friendly on June 10 ahead of the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n
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Instead, the Storm will temporarily relocate to Daytona Stadium<\/a> for Sunday’s semifinal game against the DC Defenders. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on ABC, and general admission tickets are available for $10.<\/p>\n UCF’s Acrisure Bounce House<\/a> and Camping World Stadium, located about a mile from the Storm’s home field, are both undergoing renovations. The league also evaluated IMG Academy in Bradenton and ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista.<\/p>\n After exhausting those options, the UFL initially decided to relocate the game nearly 1,000 miles north to Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n Facing backlash from the Storm’s fan base, team owner Mike Repole led an effort to find a local alternative. Daytona Stadium, a 10,000-seat venue an hour’s drive east across I-4, proved the most suitable location on short notice.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In a statement, UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon said: “As we said from the beginning, our preference was always to keep this game as close to our Orlando fanbase as possible. When we announced Columbus, we did so to ensure we had a venue confirmed to be able to play the game after exhausting every viable option in the market to that point. Since then, a potential opportunity we had looked into further surfaced in Daytona Beach that warranted immediate on-site evaluation over the weekend. Once we determined the venue had the ability to work with the collective stakeholders on an expedited timeline, we felt it was important to pivot and bring this game back to Central Florida.”<\/p>\n Schneider said he’s learned to “roll with the punches” in his professional career, which can include packing up and moving at a moment’s notice. He spent two stints on the Green Bay Packers<\/a>‘ practice squads and three spring seasons in Birmingham, Alabama, with the UFL’s Stallions. Jackson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> as an undrafted free agent, briefly crossed the border to play for the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks, made his UFL debut in 2025 with the Houston Roughnecks and joined the New York Jets<\/a> for training camp last July.<\/p>\n Traveling is the norm in the UFL; each of the league’s eight franchises share a centralized operations hub in Arlington, Texas, and they practice each week at various locations around the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Storm fly into Orlando, or their road destination, and return following games.<\/p>\n BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – APRIL 18: Cole Schneider #56 of the Orlando Storm provides pass protection during the second quarter at Protective Stadium on April 18, 2026 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Clark\/UFL\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Some things that might seem obvious to be the right way to do something may not be obvious to other people that are putting things together,” Schneider said.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n “We’re looking to really connect with the fans and start packing out the stadium, trying anything we can do to mingle with the fan base in the city of Orlando. \u2026 Looking forward into the future, if we’re able to be in Orlando year-round, I think that would be a lot more beneficial to the league and to (the city) as well.”<\/p>\n Schneider and Jackson combined to make 115 appearances for the Knights<\/a> from 2017-22, both players gaining additional eligibility due to the COVID-shortened ’20 season and the latter also earning a medical redshirt. Storm head coach Anthony Becht selected both players in January under the UFL’s regional college allocation.<\/p>\n “I gave AB the green light (on Jackson),” Schneider said with a wink.<\/p>\n They have been stalwarts for the Storm, starting all 10 games and sharing the team lead in offensive snaps (594 apiece), per Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n![\"BIRMINGHAM,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/e9058c1384e0520ec5577660d9192f05.jpeg\"\/)
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