Pro football returning to KY? What we know about reports UFL could be coming.

Kentucky is reported to be a future home for professional football.

According to James Larsen, an insider with Pro Football Newsroom, Lexington and Louisville are potential landing spots for United Football League (UFL) relocation. Kentucky is one of four rumored landing spots, along with Boise, Idaho; Columbus, Ohio; and Orlando, Florida.

The UFL is the pro football league formed from the merging of the USFL and XFL, both former spring football leagues.

Larsen reported that Louisville is a more probable landing spot, listing Lynn Family Stadium, home of the Lou City FC and Racing Louisville pro soccer teams, as the most likely destination, but did not rule out Lexington and Kroger Field as a possible home for league relocation.

According to an X post from pro football writer Mike Mitchell, a UFL spokesperson said, “The league office is in the planning stages for next season and beyond. At this point, we have nothing to report on any unauthorized speculation.”

Mitchell followed the X post with another and said that, according to two league sources “up the ladder,” nothing has been finalized. He said the initial plan for the UFL was expansion, but struggles with markets and venues led the league to explore relocation.

Alan Stein, founder of the Lexington Legends minor league baseball team, said he has been contacted many times about establishing professional sports teams in Lexington, but said this is the first time in “at least 25 years” that he hasn’t been contacted before a rumor started circulating.

“I’m really the only person that’s been here long term in Lexington and had success in a professional sport,” Stein said Wednesday. “You would think that if it were at a stage where they were really serious about it ... somebody might have reached out to me.”

Kevin Atkins, chief development officer for the city of Lexington, said in an email to the Herald-Leader that a UFL team moving to Lexington “is not something our office has worked on or aware of.”

Susan Lax, the football spokeswoman for UK Athletics, said, “We have not heard anything about a relocation of a UFL team to Lexington.”

Larsen reported in a follow-up story that the four UFL franchises moving are the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers, the four teams that make up the USFL conference of the UFL.

The teams were part of the United States Football League from 2022-2023, and survived the merger of the USFL and XFL in 2024.

Pro football history in Louisville and Lexington

Lexington and Louisville both have experience with pro football.

The Derby City was home to one of the early franchises in the National Football League, which was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before being renamed the NFL in 1922.

The Louisville Breckenridges, also known as the Brecks, played one season in the APFA in 1921, then transitioned to the NFL from 1922-23 before folding.

The Louisville Colonels played in the NFL in 1926 before also going under.

Louisville later dabbled in arena football. The Louisville Fire played in af2, the Arena Football League’s developmental arm, from 2001-08 and were coached initially by current University of Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm.

The Kentucky Xtreme, played in the Continental Indoor Football League in 2013 and 2014 and the Minor League Football Alliance in 2015 before rebranding to the Louisville Xtreme in 2017. The franchise also was part of the American Arena League, the National Arena League and the Indoor Football League before folding in 2021.

Lexington also developed a brief following with an indoor football team.

The Lexington Horsemen, who played in Rupp Arena and featured numerous former University of Kentucky players in starring roles, participated in the National Indoor Football League in 2003 and 2004, the United Football League in 2005, 2006, 2007 and af2 in 2008 before being renamed the Kentucky Horsemen in 2009.

The Horsemen posted a record of 79-42 across seven seasons, including a league championship in 2004.

The late Jared Lorenzen quarterbacked the Horsemen to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth in the team’s final season before folding in 2009.

This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 4:11 PM.