How did Louisville Kings come to be? Inside the UFL expansion decision

The UFL needed a change. Following its first completed season, the league began evaluating its teams’ markets to see which made sense to keep and relocate. That led to the UFL releasing a request for proposal (RFP) on Nov.

24, 2024, citing a desire for cities with “fan interest and existing sports culture, geography and population and venue and infrastructure availability,” according to the press release. Having checked all those boxes, Louisville became the perfect city for the UFL’s expansion , paving the way for the Kings football team. The expansion was announced in October and Chris Redman was hired as the team's inaugural head coach two months later.

Green-and-black-painted faces, men cosplaying as royalty and a variety of Kings paraphernalia could be spotted in abundance during the team’s first two home games at Lynn Family Stadium . Though the on-field results were slow to arrive — the Kings started their inaugural season 0-3 before defeating the Houston Gamblers in overtime Thursday — the expected, immediate buy-in has proven the UFL correct. But longevity is key as Louisville looks to become a more widely recognized mid-major sports market .

“It's a multimillion-dollar, multi-year commitment to each of the cities,” Mike Repole, who is a co-owner of the Kings and joined the UFL’s ownership group last July, told The Courier Journal. “... I’ve built companies before, from vitamin water to Bodyarmor sport drink to NOBULL sneaker and apparel company.