UFL Reacts to Sparse Attendance, Swaps Multiple Game Venues

The UFL has changed venues for two of its remaining games, the league announced Thursday. Presumably, the move is due to the four-team outfit's sparse attendance thus far.

The New York Sentinels' home game vs. the Las Vegas Locomotives on Nov. 4 was moved from Citi Field to Hofstra's James M. Shuart Stadium. In addition, on Nov. 14 the California Redwoods will host the Locos at San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium instead of AT&T Park, as previously scheduled.

Fans who purchased tickets for those contests before the venue change can obtain a full refund at the original point of purchase.

The UFL, which kicked off Oct. 8, has played its games in half-empty stadiums and generated little buzz. However, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue is confident about the league's status and remains optimistic about its future.

"The UFL has gotten off to a fantastic start with high-quality, affordable football action, talented players hungry for the opportunity to compete, innovative television broadcasts and a tremendous overall game-day experience for the fans," Huyghue said.

The commissioner, though, suggested that the UFL must be realistic about its scope and conscious of its image, most likely leading to the league's decision to move to smaller venues. Both Citi Field and AT&T Park -- homes of the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, respectively, -- hold more than 40,000 fans.

"With the completion of four games, we thought this was a good time to evaluate our strategies and make adjustments where necessary," Huyghue said. "While Citi Field is a phenomenal facility, and we look forward to playing a game there in the future, we feel Hofstra is a better fit for us right now as a football facility. Hofstra University has been receptive to handling logistics with us, including allowing our teams to practice there during game week.

"Spartan Stadium has always been in our plans to use as a secondary venue to AT&T Park during baseball season. By moving one of our games from AT&T Park to San Jose State, we are able to get a feel for Spartan Stadium in preparation for next year, while broadening our Redwoods fan base."

The league already made a venue change last week, allowing Las Vegas to move its third home game to UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium on Nov. 20, when the contest originally was scheduled at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. The move, according to the league, was a reward for the city's support.

Despite that vote of confidence, the response has been mild in Las Vegas, where the Locos have already hosted two games. A crowd of just 14,209 for the league's first ever game -- the largest gathering thus far -- prompted the Locos to lower ticket prices for Game 2.

The Redwoods' first home game, a 24-7 win over the Sentinels last Saturday, drew just 6,341 fans.

The UFL also has scheduled home games for the Sentinels at 80,000-seat Giants Stadium on Oct. 29 and at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut on Nov. 12. The Florida Tuskers will play their second home game tonight at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando vs. the Redwoods before hosting the Locos at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida next Friday.

NOTES: Redwoods linebacker Jon Abbate will miss tonight's game against the Tuskers with a concussion. For the Tuskers, running back Tatum Bell (toe) and safety Dexter Jackson (groin), a former Super Bowl MVP with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are listed as questionable. ... Linebacker Alfred Fincher, a former third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, was released by the Sentinels on Wednesday.