Buffalo soccer group gets backing from downtown leaders for Buffalo Place stadium

A group of downtown developers, property owners and business leaders yesterday “gave their backing” to an effort to bring a professional soccer club to downtown Buffalo, according to Jonathan Epstein of the BUFFALO NEWS. The board of Buffalo Place approved a resolution backing a downtown site at Washington and Scott streets if “any public funds are to be used to build the stadium.” Epstein noted Buffalo Pro Soccer, led by Peter Marlette Jr., is trying to launch a new team in the USL that would play in Buffalo, starting in March 2026. It also wants to build a new 10,000-seat stadium for the team that “could also be used for other amateur sports, youth sports, concerts and events.” The group is considering at least three potential sites for such a stadium, but only one of them is downtown. The downtown location is the “preferred location not only for the group but also for city officials, who encouraged them to look at it.” However, the site is the “more costly of the potential locations,” with an estimated $30M price tag for construction and as much as $45M when including startup and operating costs, even with the use of modular construction to reduce both the cost and the timeframe for construction. Epstein added the group is “hoping to obtain” $20M in public funding from the state (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/26).