New sites emerge in Buffalo Pro Soccer stadium search

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — New sites have emerged in Buffalo Pro Soccer's search for a new stadium site after the initial site fell through earlier this year.

Team President Peter Marlette declined to name exactly where the new sites were or how many have entered the conversation, but did say they have emerged in recent weeks.

"I won't put a number on it, but some of them are [new]," Marlette said Tuesday night before a community town hall at Santora's in Williamsville. "Some of them were eliminated very quickly, but a couple we've done some real, like I mentioned, traffic impact surveys, environmental studies, stuff like that. Some of them we have done that and gotten the reports back and they're interesting."

The top option is still believed to be an area in the Cobblestone District in the old Buffalo News parking lot adjacent to KeyBank Center. That stadium was set to come with a $40 million price tag, but Marlette said over the summer that the actual price could end up being lower than that.

The franchise is still committed to being within city limits, citing data they've collected that concluded the team would do better in the city rather than a suburban location. The data has included financial aspects, as well as parking and public transportation. Current league recommendations call for one parking spot for every three seats.

"It's very hard to argue with the data," Marlette said.

The team had announced in June that it would play at a 10,000 seat stadium at Lee and Elk Street in south Buffalo, but backed out of the deal in July following a dispute with PVS Chemicals, a chemical plant next door. The decision also pushed back the franchise's start date in the USL Championship, the second-highest division of professional soccer in North America, back a year from 2026 to 2027.

Marlette said in July that an announcement for a new stadium site was close.

"I think we could make the decision today if we chose to," Marlette said, "but we want to make sure we're getting everything right and that we are considering every possible factor and whatever site we end up going with."

Marlette said during the town hall that he is interviewing candidates for an academy director for the franchise's youth teams and a hire could come soon. The team has also received more than 2,000 season ticket deposits.