Columbus to get pro spring football team in 2026, will play at Historic Crew Stadium
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus Crew's old stadium will see the return of professional football in 2026, just not the one you are thinking about.
The Columbus Crew and United Football League confirmed that one of the UFL's teams will be relocating to Columbus for the upcoming 2026 season. The new Columbus team will play its home games at Historic Crew Stadium, which hosted Crew games from 1999 to 2021 before the MLS club moved to Lower.com Field in the Arena District.
One of the league's new investors Mike Repole, the co-founder of BodyArmor and Vitaminwater, told multiple media outlets that a second team will also relocate for 2026, but has yet to announce which city will join Columbus in welcoming a team.
“The UFL selecting Historic Crew Stadium to host a team’s home games is a further testament to the first-class fan experience at our venue, as well as advances our commitment to bringing unique major events to Columbus that highlight our city and promote economic impact in the region," wrote a Columbus Crew spokesperson in a statement.
The new professional football team will be the first in Columbus since the Destroyers of the Arena Football League, who played at Nationwide Arena from 2004 to 2008 and returned briefly in 2019.
The UFL currently has eight teams in the United States Football League conference and XFL conference. Here are the eight teams that played last season, which took place from March 28 to June 14.
2025 UFL teams
- Birmingham Stallions
- Houston Roughnecks
- Memphis Showboats
- Michigan Panthers
- Arlington Renegades
- DC Defenders
- San Antonio Brahmas
- St. Louis Battlehawks
Historic Crew Stadium was the first soccer-specific stadium built for an MLS club. The venue has hosted high school football games in years past. It also hosted two MLS Cup finals in 2015, which the Crew lost, and in 2020, which the Crew won in front of a pandemic-reduced crowd of 1,500 fans.
Among other notable sporting events to be played there include 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup games and numerous United States soccer national team games, including being the unofficial home of each USA-Mexico World Cup qualifying game from 2001 to 2016.