ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Storm’s playoff game against the DC Defenders will be played in Daytona Beach after the United Football League changed course on plans to move the game out of state.
The UFL announced Monday that the Sunday, June 7, playoff game will now be played at Daytona Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will air on Channel 9.
The league had previously announced plans to move the game to a neutral-site venue in Columbus, Ohio.
UFL officials said a new venue was needed because Inter&Co Stadium was unavailable due to prior commitments connected to hosting an international soccer match.
The league said it evaluated several possible venues, including UCF’s Acrisure Bounce House, Camping World Stadium, IMG Academy, Wide World of Sports and Daytona Stadium.
UFL officials said some venues were unavailable, under renovation or unable to meet operational, broadcast and game-day requirements for a playoff event.
After the Columbus announcement, the league said it continued working on options in Florida.
Officials from the UFL, Bethune-Cookman University, the City of Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Police, ESPN, Ticketmaster and concession partners worked through the weekend on a plan to bring the game to Daytona Stadium.
“As we said from the beginning, our preference was always to keep this game as close to our Orlando fanbase as possible,” UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon said.
Brandon said the league moved forward with Columbus to ensure a venue was confirmed but later determined Daytona Stadium could work on an expedited timeline.
“Once we determined the venue had the ability to work with the collective stakeholders on an expedited timeline, we felt it was important to pivot and bring this game back to Central Florida,” Brandon said.
Tickets are general admission and cost $10.
Season ticket members will receive complimentary tickets and will get an email with information on how to claim the offer.
The league said fan-friendly concessions will be available, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a playoff T-shirt.
Previously purchased tickets for the game in Columbus will be automatically refunded based on where they were purchased.
The UFL said refunds could take seven to 10 business days to process.
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