The UFL announced Thursday that the Houston Gamblers and Birmingham Stallions have been eliminated and the league will add two teams in different markets for 2027. The UFL also plans to expand from eight to 10 teams in 2028, including adding a franchise in Oklahoma City.
“Departing a market is never easy and this decision is not a reflection of the dedication shown by players, coaches, fans, local partners, or civic leaders in Birmingham or Houston. We are grateful for their passion, commitment, and support, which have helped shape the continued evolution of the UFL,” UFL co-owner Mike Repole said in a statement released by the league. “My mission is to build a league that is not only sustainable today, but also successful and thriving for decades to come. Building a spring football league has required discipline and difficult decisions, which have been guided by our clear long-term vision. Every market evaluation begins with the same three principles I have said since day one — the right market, the right sized venue, and a passionate fan base.”
After averaging 7,056 fans per game in 2024 and 5,752 fans in 2025 while playing at University of Houston’s TDECU Stadium in those first two seasons, the team relocated to the smaller Shell Energy Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo and Dash. Attendance dipped to 5,683 per game this past season, which was the worst in the league. Average attendance across the league was 10,501, bolstered by the St. Louis Battlehawks, who have been a hit in football-starved St. Louis and averaged more than 23,000 fans per game.
It didn’t help that Houston never experienced much success on the field in the upstart league. The Roughnecks went 1-9 and 5-5, respectively, in their first two seasons under head coach Curtis Johnson before hiring former Houston and Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin to usher in the new Houston Gamblers era, but Sumlin went just 4-6 last season.
“Houston played an important role in reestablishing modern spring football, and we’re grateful to the fans, partners, and community who supported the Roughnecks and Gamblers,” Repole said. “Houston is a great sports city, and Shell Energy Stadium has been an outstanding partner and venue. The reality is that we did not give this market the consistency it deserved. Between venue changes, team-name changes, and different approaches, we made it difficult to build lasting momentum.”
By switching to the Gamblers moniker in 2026, the league tried to lean into the success the city experienced with the USFL in 1984 and 1985. With Jim Kelly at quarterback and Jack Pardee as head coach, those Gamblers teams ran an exciting run-and-shoot offense before it made its way to the Houston Oilers and averaged 28,512 fans per game that first season in the Astrodome. Interest waned a bit in 1985 with the Gamblers averaging 19,120 fans in what turned out to be the USFL’s final season.
Spring football returned to Houston in 2020 when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson brought back the XFL, which included the Houston Roughnecks. Houston had another team when the USFL was brought back in 2022, but every team in that league played in Birmingham, Ala., instead of home markets. The XFL and USFL merged in 2024, creating the UFL, which continued with the Roughnecks name before switching to the Gamblers.