October 2007

The UFL has joined forces with TicketRESERVE to give fans the opportunity to purchase reservations for season tickets in an interactive web based marketplace prior to the league’s official launch. The eight cities that generate the most ticket reservations will be designated as the leading markets to host a franchise. The campaign will focus on twelve potential host cities: Austin, Birmingham, Columbus, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Raleigh, Sacramento and San Antonio.

“The UFL’s mission is to deliver high quality and accessible pro football to fans in underserved markets around the country, and we felt it was important to give these fans a voice,” stated Michael Huyghue, UFL Commissioner. “This program will give us a good gauge on market interest and gives fans the power to help impact where our teams land.”

Fans can simply visit www.ticketreserve.com and pay an upfront cost of as low as $5 per ticket to reserve their seats. Should their city get selected, the investment acts as a deposit directly towards their ticket purchase. If their city does not get awarded a UFL franchise, the money will be fully reimbursed.

“Forming a new league based on the actual consumer demand ensures fans have a vote in selecting which markets will host a franchise,” said Rick Harmon, Chief Executive Officer of TicketRESERVE. “We are excited to be a part of the first professional league that offers sports fanatics the opportunity to bring a team to their city.”

In addition to the TicketRESERVE reservation data, the UFL will consider market research and other factors in determining the final team markets.

The UFL was developed to meet the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football. Featuring real, outdoor professional football played in the fall, the UFL will include eight teams comprised of world class football players. Currently, games are planned for Friday nights.

Bill Hambrecht, an investment banker and former investor in the United States Football League's Oakland Invaders, created the United Football League. Hambrecht has joined forces with an executive of Google, Tim Armstrong, and billionaire NBA Dallas Mavericks franchise owner, Mark Cuban. Cuban has offered up the following on his personal blog; "There is obviously demand for top level professional football. That is exactly what the UFL hopes to be someday, an equal of the NFL, if not more. There are a lot of markets that are bigger than some current NFL markets that do not have teams that would love to have a pro-football team. There are a lot of smart people involved in the UFL. It's a great TV product."

The league's Commissioner, Michael Huyghue, has a history with Birmingham. In 1991, he was the general manager of the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football. In 1992, he left the Fire for a position at the league office.

An interesting wrinkle for the UFL to contend with is another new professional football league, the All American Football League, scheduled to begin playing in 2008 as well. Birmingham has already been granted a franchise in the AAFL and already has Legion Field under contract. "The biggest hurdle is pulling everything together in a relatively brief time frame. In terms of getting quality players, I don't anticipate that being a difficulty at all,” Huyghue said.

Huyghue has confirmed separate evaluations will be made for New York, Mexico City and London, and said the UFL intends to expand to 12 teams for its second season. "We're trying to get a good read on it and we really don't want to launch any cities until that time. We want to give everybody the same opportunity. I will tell you we have a good idea of where at least four of them are going to be, but we're not going to make any determinations until we see the results of our campaign,” Huyghue said.

November 2007

Langford met with UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue this week to discuss the possibility of Birmingham being granted a franchise in the new league. Huyghue was in town to meet with the Mayor and business leaders to gauge local interest and locate possible investors.

"That's exactly the environment we want to be in. We'll make a decision in December. We're fairly close. Birmingham would be a great fit. I have firsthand knowledge of the community's passion and knowledge of pro football," Huyghue said.

Huyghue said the league would be successful because each team will begin with an initial bankroll of $90 million. Estimates are for each team to spend $30 million each season.

February 2008

December 2008

Birmingham is not on the list of cities rumored as possible franchise locations. Hartford (CT), Las Vegas (NV), Los Angeles (CA), New York (NY), Orlando (FL) and San Francisco (CA) are current front-runners.

The UFL also announced a new league logo.