2011 United Football League season

The 2011 United Football League season will be the third season in the United Football League. The 10-game regular season will begin during the weekend of Sunday, August 7, 2011 and extend eleven weeks into October, followed by the 2011 UFL Championship Game on the weekend of Sunday, October 23, 2011.

League changes for 2011
The UFL will enter 2011 with at least 5 franchises, the same amount of teams it had in 2010. In August 2010, the league awarded the Virginia Beach area an expansion franchise for 2011, the Virginia Destroyers. Jim Speros had been named owner of the Destroyers before relinquishing control back to the league. Doug Williams serves as the Destroyers' general manager. The Destroyers shedded the "expansion" tag on January 12, 2011, when the UFL announced it was "ceasing operations" of its Florida Tuskers franchise and moving Tuskers coach Jay Gruden, his coaching staff and list of protected players to Virginia to serve in the same roles with the Destroyers. Joe Moglia, who was named the Destroyers' first head coach in November 2010, will take the same job in Omaha.

Prior to shuttering the Tuskers franchise (a move the UFL made citing decreased attendance and stadium issues in the Orlando area), the league had been aiming for at least 8 teams for 2011; the league had said it was "pretty committed" to a 7th franchise in the Los Angeles area but wanted an additional new franchise that would have given the league an even 8 teams. With the league back at 5 teams for the moment, the UFL now says it will look for at least a 6th franchise for 2011. In addition to Los Angeles, other cities that have been in contention for UFL expansion include Honolulu, Salt Lake City, Jackson, Mississippi, and Portland, Oregon (which was very nearly awarded a franchise before backing down).

The UFL will also start its 2011 regular season in August; while the start is earlier than the start dates of its previous seasons, the move-up allows the UFL to draw attention while the National Football League is in its preseason, while also allowing UFL teams to play on Sundays for the first time ever. Depending on the number of teams, the UFL regular season will span as much as eleven weeks, with each team playing ten games and getting one bye week.

Stadium changes
At least two UFL teams will play in new stadiums in 2011. The Omaha Nighthawks, who played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010, will move to the brand new TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. The Virginia Destroyers, who as the Florida Tuskers played in Orlando's Citrus Bowl, will call Virginia Beach Sportsplex in Virginia Beach their home.

Additionally, the Las Vegas Locomotives have indicated they are exploring options for a smaller, less expensive stadium in the Las Vegas, Nevada area as a result of poor attendance and high rates of rent for Sam Boyd Stadium, the Locos' home for the past two years. Cashman Field has been mentioned as a possibility.

Broadcasting
The current television contracts with Versus and HDNet expired December 31, 2010; as of January 2011, no new broadcast deals have been announced. A portion of the league's new television contract will be set aside in the event of a work stoppage during the 2011 NFL season; the set-aside package may be used as a Sunday afternoon filler should any NFL games be canceled, and could wind up as replacement programming for the NFL's TV broadcasters.