Starting in 2026, Buffalo will have a team in the United Soccer League. And, as you can imagine, folks are stoked about this.
Here's what to know.
The team will be called Buffalo Pro Soccer. Plans are to bring the pro soccer club to Buffalo by 2026 through an exclusive partnership with USL. The franchise agreement does cover a Women's Super League team within USL.
There are still some big things to work out, like a stadium location. There are four potential sites, all in the city of Buffalo. The goal is to make this stadium accessible for all.
The search is also still on for a primary owner.
What is known for sure, however, is, this is going to be a well-rounded club that will help kids get into the game at home before heading abroad.
"What this is going to do is it’s going to create idols and people to look up to in their backyard and also at the USL level MLS is similar but USL is different. We can get the players out there putting out clinics putting out camps coaching teams if they want to," Peter Marlette Jr., Buffalo Pro Soccer president, said.
Some fun facts about USL. The Championship features 24 men’s professional teams playing a 34-game regular season from March to October. It is the only league sanctioned by U.S. Soccer’s Division II.
From an economic standpoint, the USL Championship teams average nearly 6,000 fans per game, with some teams regularly drawing more than 10,000.