Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Buffalo ownership group is looking to bring a professional rugby team to Western New York.
Major League Rugby (MLR) announced Thursday it has signed a letter of intent with the group, led by Joe DiPasquale and Mark Winokur, making them an MLR Expansion Candidate with the goal of the new team - Buffalo Thunderbolts - starting play in the 2028 season.
“Buffalo is a great sports city led by fiercely loyal and passionate fans, with deep rugby roots and a unique cross-border reach into Canada,” said Alex Magleby, Co-President of Major League Rugby in a statement. “Joe and Mark have done serious work already, and we look forward to seeing their full plan come to fruition in the coming months.”
The letter of intent is the first formal step in MLR’s expansion process. Over the coming months, the Buffalo group will finalize its ownership, venue and business plans with the league in hopes of landing an expansion spot in the 2028 MLR competition.
"We love the fact that the league is so excited about Buffalo that they've decided to sign a letter of intent with us. It's enormous. That's a huge, huge step," said DiPasquale in an interview with WBEN. "There are other markets that are interested that have been having conversations with the league, and we're not the only one. But we are the only one they signed an LOI with, and that says a lot. It says a lot about what we're doing here. It says a lot about the serious interest we have here. It says a lot about this community. It says a lot about the attractiveness of this community to MLR. It checks all the boxes."
The MLR is a professional sports league representing the highest rugby competition in North America. Launched in 2018, the league’s current five teams stretch from coast-to-coast in the United States. The expansion process is part of MLR’s vision to build toward 12 teams by the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup, which will be held in the United States.
"Buffalo is one of the best markets, I think, in terms of expanding into with rugby," DiPasquale added. "There is a 60-year rugby club heritage here in Buffalo, there is a Buffalo Rugby Club that started play in 1966. They just celebrated their 60th anniversary, and we got started in earnest on that weekend."
One supporter of the expansion rugby franchise in Buffalo is State Assemblyman Bill Conrad. He says since Thursday morning, his phone has been ringing off the hook with folks in the rugby community very much wanting to get on board.
"Buffalo has a long history of rugby - my club, the Buffalo Rugby Club, just celebrated its [60th] anniversary. It was formed back in 1966, my dad played for it, I played for it," said Conrad in an interview with WBEN. "It has youth development. It's part of the Olympics now, and the World Cup is coming to the United States in 2031 and 2033. So a lot of excitement brewing about the expansion of rugby in the area."
The league used to have a team from Toronto (Arrows) and in New York (Rugby United New York), but both franchises disbanded from the league in 2023 after coming into the league at the same time in 2019.
With both the downstate team and the team across the border now defunct, DiPasquale felt like Buffalo was the perfect market to take advantage of not only New York State, but also the Canadian market.
"Buffalo is an incredible sports town. The impact on Buffalo, that goes without saying," DiPasquale said. "Not just another sports team, but the rugby season goes from right after the Super Bowl to right before Bills training camp. So in terms of timing, we've got March, April, May, June is when the rugby season runs. Now, unless the Sabers are in the playoffs - we always hope they are - hockey season wraps up in April, so in terms of competition, not much in that stretch on the calendar.
"We know our football, we know our hockey, we know our rugby, and MLR is going to find out how well we know our rugby once we start playing. You can't overstate that either with a 60-year rugby club history. We've got knowledgeable fans who will bring that to the table, in terms of the league."
Conrad can remember when the Arrows and RUNY battled it out in a game at the Buffalo Bills fieldhouse in Orchard Park in a "Battle of Buffalo". Though both teams have since disbanded from the league, Conrad knows the MLR is looking particularly at expanding into the smaller markets.
"It's a small imprint, their fan base usually at games is from 4,000-to-10,000 people, depending on the market. But I think there's quite a bit of interest locally for something unique," Conrad said. "I remember when the Buffalo Bandits came to town, not a lot of folks knew about lacrosse; maybe they played in high school, maybe they played in college. Now I think they're a big part of the social fabric of Buffalo, it's one of our three professional franchises that we all consider."
Conrad also points to the popularity of rugby locally with several universities having a strong history.
"I played for Fredonia, Buff State, UB, you name it. And you see a lot of kids now getting scholarships to play for places like St. Bonaventure. Just a really good kind of atmosphere, I think, for something like this to grow in the area," he said.
"In fact, St. Bonaventure, right down the road from us, just won the Division I title for USA College Rugby, and has been doing a great job with their team. And I think they're in their conference championship this weekend."
As for the team name, DiPasquale feels the "Thunderbolts" ties in perfectly with the city's history.
"It's actually named after the Republic P-47G Thunderbolt that was built by Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo between 1942 and '44. It was a plane flown by fighters in World War II, and it was built right here in Buffalo. That's how we came up with the name, the Thunderbolts, and we love it," he explained. "We love that history, playing into the history of Buffalo, of our culture, celebrating it with even the name."
As for what's next, DiPasquale and his group are set to have third and fourth meetings with a couple of major investors, and the hope is to have some conclusion to those meetings within the next four weeks.
Part of the final details that need to be hammered out is a playing venue to call home.
"We've talked to several groups, several different people. We had conversations with Peter Marlette's soccer group, that's on the table, and other possible venues as well," DiPasquale noted. "We firmly believe we'll be able to start playing in 2028, regardless as to where. We've got several options on the table right now that we're weighing, and that's where that sits."
The Thunderbolts would begin play in the 2028 season
The Thunderbolts would begin play in the 2028 season
