Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - We're now 13 months away from the hopeful kickoff of a new USL Championship soccer club in the City of Buffalo, but there's plenty of work still to be done to welcome the franchise to Western New York.
Perhaps the biggest immediate need for the new professional soccer franchise in Buffalo is to find a location to build a new facility to call home.
Just last week, Peter Marlette Jr. and Buffalo Pro Soccer narrowed their search down to three sites, with the most preferred location being the parking lots across the street from the former Buffalo News building along Scott Street. However, if they are set on building the new stadium in that part of Downtown Buffalo, the group may need additional funds to come from New York State.
While getting that commitment in funding may be a challenge with the upcoming state budget being finalized in the coming weeks, Marlette Jr. feels getting that support is still a possibility.
"I can present the facts and present the numbers, and then it's up to other people to make that choice. And because that part of it is out of my and my investor's hands, that's why we've pursued these other options that we can do either entirely, or almost entirely, privately in the event that that decision goes a different way, we're ready to go elsewhere. And it's insights that this absolutely works," said Marlette Jr. on Thursdy.
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Marlette Jr. and the Buffalo Pro Soccer group have already had a number of conversations with local members of state, county and city government, and feels this project has been viewed largely as favorable. However, he acknowledges there have been no commitments made from anyone at this point.
"That's a phenomenal stadium site for us as a professional soccer team, but also for the city and the residents of Buffalo and Western New York," Marlette Jr. said. "Having said that, it's not the only site that checks those boxes, and it's not the only site that we are very far down the road with."
Marlette Jr. firmly believes the downtown location will make the biggest impact on the City of Buffalo and its residents, but, having said that, there are still a few other sites in the City of Buffalo up for consideration that have all been vetted.
"They absolutely work for a professional soccer team, and they'll benefit the city as well. It's just one is right in the heart of downtown, in the stadium district, and could potentially convert a sea of parking lots into something greater than that," Marlette Jr. said.
And even if the new stadium site does not end up in Downtown Buffalo, Marlette Jr. is still confident that the City of Buffalo will provide a great home for the new USL franchise.
"I will tell you, we are not going to build a stadium somewhere where I don't believe we're going to thrive and where the numbers don't back up that we're going to thrive. I've got too many people who have put their trust and their money behind this project to pick something that I don't think is going to make it worth their while," he said.
Marlette Jr. adds that no matter how the stadium developments play out, everything remains on schedule to bring a USL soccer club to Buffalo and Western New York by March of 2026.
Buffalo Pro Soccer also announced on Thursday the acquisition of the FC Buffalo Youth Academy in a partnership that marks a transformative moment for soccer in Western New York.
Marlette Jr., along with FC Buffalo club president Nick Mendola, feel this will help pave the way for young athletes to access a talent development pipeline that will guide them from local youth fields to the highest levels of global soccer — allowing them to develop their skills at home while preparing to compete on the biggest stages.
"The purpose of this, and our main goal of forming a professional soccer team in Buffalo is to cultivate and foster the exceptional talent that we have in the youth ranks in this city, and give them a clear, direct pathway to the professional game here in Buffalo, and then around the world. This is a great first step towards that," Marlette Jr. said.
Mendola knows that bringing a USL soccer franchise to Buffalo was something Marlette Jr. was looking to accomplish since his playing days with FC Buffalo over a decade ago.
"The USL has set up a structure that we found attractive, and we've moved our women's team there now as well. And what's important is from Moment 1, Peter expressed the same things that we wanted to do, and he's acquiring the resources to make that better," said Mendola during Thursday's announcement. "So when I am able to talk to the, let's say, 70-to-80 families that are involved in FC Buffalo and say, 'Hey, this is the investment in the trust you put in us,' this is something that there will be more recent resources, there will be more behind it. It becomes something that they want to aspire to, it becomes something for them. So Peter's just pushing the right buttons, and we're there to lend whatever we can along the way."
The transition enables FC Buffalo to focus entirely on its USL League 2 and USL W League teams, as well as its work in the under-represented community, furthering its commitment to growing high-level competitive soccer in Buffalo.
Buffalo Pro Soccer’s investment in the academy will bring enhanced training, top-tier coaching, financial support, and access to college counseling. The expanded youth academy will ensure that Buffalo’s best young soccer players no longer need to look elsewhere to chase their dreams.
"The USL, and for good reason, won't even allow expansion teams in unless they have an academy structure or an agreement to begin an academy structure. That is because this is the way to grow the game in the U.S., to cultivate those exceptional young talents that exist all across this country, but without the direct pathway to the professional game are getting lost," Marlette Jr. explained. "What FC Buffalo has done in their academy, laying this groundwork over the past few years, allows us to more easily come in and identify the top players who really have, whether it's professional or collegiate or whatever potential that may be, give them the best opportunity to develop and ideally - I fully expect as happens across the country in USL markets - taking players who grew up here and giving them their first professional contracts, and their first professional minutes here in their hometown. And then sky's the limit from there."
In addition to serving as a pathway to professional soccer careers, the Buffalo Pro Soccer Youth will also help players pursue higher education and extend their soccer careers at top universities. Buffalo Pro Soccer has reached an agreement with two top-tier Buffalo-based education consultants, Liz Attea and Justin Rogers, to help prepare and guide the student-athletes for their futures beyond the game of soccer, ensuring the youth academy’s impact expands beyond the playing fields.
In addition to this announcement, Marlette Jr. expects there to be more news about the hirings of team executives, a club manager, and player signings in the coming weeks and months.
As for the team's identity, including a team name, logo and colors, Marlette Jr. says the group is still actively working towards finalizing all those elements.
"Our survey that we put out a couple months ago now did have a write in on colors, names, branding, identity, all of that. We got roughly 2,000 responses on that, so we've now gone through all of those, put together, at least, what that survey indicates Buffalo wants to see represented in their club, and we're having internal meetings," he said. "We've built out a creative council of local Buffalo visual artists, graphic artists, just creative, successful people who are helping advise us on the direction that they think we should go in. And we just want to build a club, and we want to build everything around that that is representative of Buffalo and Western New York. So we need to bring people in who are able to help us get there."