Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The idea of pro soccer in Buffalo, and a new stadium for it, is back.
A newly formed group - Buffalo Pro Soccer - announced their plans to bring a USL Championship club to Buffalo by 2026. That would include developing "an authentic soccer stadium that also offers opportunities for a variety of community and entertainment events," according to the group, which is in the process of exploring a site for the new stadium.
Peter Marlette will serve as President of Buffalo Pro Soccer. Marlette is a Buffalo native who played five seasons with FC Buffalo. He served the past
three years as General Manager of Union Omaha. FC Buffalo currently playes in USL League Two, and backs the initiative.
It's a similar announcement to one made in 2019, when real estate developer John McClutchy announced he had an agreement to bring a USL Championship club to Buffalo, contingent upon the construction of a 10,000 seat soccer specific stadium in Buffalo. The goal then was to have a team on the field in 2023, but the Covid pandemic derailed those plans.
At the time, McClutchy told WBEN his group was looking at sites in-and-around downtown Buffalo for that stadium.
The USL Championship features 24 men’s professional teams each playing a 34-game regular season from March to October, and is the only league with U.S. Soccer’s Division II sanctioning. USL Championship teams average nearly 6,000 fans per game in cities including Pittsburgh and Detroit.