New Pro Football Team Planned for Milwaukee
Unnamed team will join Continental Football League, play summer schedule.
Milwaukee Pro Football, Pre-Identity Banner. Photo Courtesy of Ameer Hollowell.
Football fans, players and coaches get ready…
Milwaukee Pro Football announced Tuesday that Milwaukee is set to welcome a 2027 Continental Football League team.
Described as a professional, full-field, 11 v. 11, summer football program, the proposed competition window for Milwaukee’s new team is May through July 2027.
“Milwaukee is a football town. Always has been. This is a city … that shows up for the game of football at every level, in every neighborhood, all year long. The Continental Football League belongs in a city like this, and Milwaukee Pro Football is exactly the kind of ownership group we built the CoFL to work with,” said Manny Matsakis, the Continental Football League’s founder and CEO, in a statement posted to the organization’s website.
Ahmed Hollowell is Milwaukee Pro Football’s team president. His son, Ameer Hollowell, is the founder and chief operations officer. “Plenty of people have sons, grandkids and friends who have performed at a high level. They leave Milwaukee and they don’t come back because there is no opportunity for them to participate at that level here. This [team] brings back local ties, it gives every football athlete at least an opportunity to be seen and heard. It’s a community project,” said Ameer.
Though the league and team have been announced, specific details about the team’s identity and roster, venue, schedule and operations are still being finalized.
Milwaukee Pro Football is asking for community input to determine the team name and venue. A community ballot is open and asks for submission of one original team name idea and one preferred Milwaukee-area venue. Venue options include American Family Field, Milwaukee Mile, Hart Park and Veterans Park.
The working pilot plan calls for three home games. The ballot notes that every venue option remains subject to availability, safety, cost and required approvals.
Team identity is set to be unveiled Dec. 25. Player tryouts are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 10, 2027.
According to its website, Milwaukee Pro Football is the intended team operator, while its parent company, Milwaukee Football Development Corp., is set to lead business development. A third associated entity, Milwaukee Football Community Association, will handle public-facing priorities distinct from team sales and football operations.
The Continental Football League launched its “proof of concept” season in the summer of 2026 and has been working to expand for 2027. Other CoFL teams include the Indianapolis Capitols (Indiana), Cincinnati Dukes (Ohio), San Antonio Toros (Texas), Tall City Black Gold (Texas) and Texas Syndicate.
What about the pro men’s soccer team that was supposed to start play in 2026? Milwaukee Pro Soccer hasn’t provided any updates in more than a year and the field remains a gravel lot.
Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
I can’t imagine the Milwaukee Mile being capable of hosting football. Nor can I see AmFam Field being a likely venue because it would interfere with Brewer season and probably be too expensive. Since Hart Park is technically in Wauwatosa, not Milwaukee, my vote is for Veterans Park.
If only they built something on that gravel lot… that could double as a football & soccer venue
Weird quirk about the style of play in the Continental League, (from a JS article),
“The league, a revival of sorts in using the Continental Football League name from a league that operated from 1965 to 1969, features 11-on-11 football, fully resembling NFL football for three quarters before switching to a different style of play in the fourth (resembling Canadian rules), including three downs, unlimited forward motion, a faster play clock and a smaller neutral zone. The league has called this feature “The Continental Shift.”
The city associated with the Tall City Black Gold is Midland TX and the Texas Syndicate city is Austin TX.
I like the idea of this but am very skeptical of whether this will actually happen.
Seems like fake news. Do you think they asked the Brewers, State Fair, Wauwatosa or Milwaukee County if they could use these venues?