The anticipation for the 2026 World Cup is growing. Investment in US soccer is at levels not seen since the 1994 World Cup. Following the US hosting of the World Cup in 1994, soccer in America took off. Before 1994, there was no sustainable American professional soccer league.[i] Since then, Major League Soccer, the top tier of American professional soccer, has taken off and now boasts 30 teams.[ii] It is not just Major League Soccer that has benefited from the growth in popularity. From youth soccer to professional soccer, the sport continues to grow across the country.
One of the most exciting developments in professional soccer is the United Soccer League, or USL. The USL is a conglomerate of multiple men’s and women’s leagues representing the second through fourth tiers of the men’s leagues (beneath the MLS) and a first tier and independent women’s leagues. The USL is also home to two youth leagues.[iii]
Buffalo will hopefully be the home of its own USL Championship side soon. Spearheaded by Buffalo native and former General Manager of USL League One team, Union Omaha, Peter Marlette, Jr., the group Buffalo Pro Soccer has proposed bringing a professional soccer team to Buffalo and with it, hopefully long-term and robust community development.[iv] Buffalo Pro Soccer aims to begin playing in the 2026 season, coinciding with the next Men’s World Cup.
Every team needs a stadium, and in recent years there has been massive growth in the number of soccer-specific stadiums. In the years immediately following the 1994 World Cup, most professional soccer teams played in multipurpose stadiums.[v] In just the last five years, ten teams have constructed soccer-specific stadiums.[vi] Any potential professional Buffalo team is no different. Buffalo Pro Soccer has proposed a 10,000-seat soccer-specific stadium to be in the heart of downtown Buffalo. The preferred location for the new stadium would be the parking lots of the former Buffalo News building and HSBC Atrium.[vii] Initially, Buffalo Pro Soccer indicated the stadium was going to be built using a mixture of private investment and crowdfunding.[viii] However, since then, the group has pulled back and is now seeking state funding of $20 million.[ix]
The stadium itself would be built modularly. Components for it would be fabricated outside of Buffalo and shipped in for final assembly and construction. This prefab design and smaller size allow the future stadium to be constructed at a much more competitive cost than other soccer-specific stadiums that have recently been or that will be constructed in the next few years. FC Cincinnati of the MLS recently opened its TQL Stadium housing 26,000 at a cost estimated to be $300 million.[x] The Oakland Roots of the USL has proposed the construction of a 15,000-seat modular stadium at an estimated cost of $129 million.[xi] Lexington Sporting Club, also of the USL built a 7,500-seat modular stadium at a cost of $80 million.[xii]
For the proposed Buffalo stadium, the hope is to expand the offerings beyond just soccer and thus energize a downtown revitalization. Discussions of a Buffalo Renaissance have been ongoing for years now. There have been countless development projects all aimed at revitalization and redevelopment. Buffalo Pro Soccer and its new stadium will potentially be another piece in this ever-evolving story.
[i] See Caleb Otte, Analysis | Soccer’s Continuing Growth in the U.S. (Feb. 20, 2024), https://www.thepanthernewspaper.org/sports/analysis-soccers-continuing-growth-in-the-us.
[ii] Id.
[iii] See About, USL, https://www.uslsoccer.com/about.
[iv] See Buffalo Pro Soccer Unveils Plans to Bring Highest Levels of USL Professional Soccer to Buffalo, USL (Mar. 28, 2024), https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/1305388.
[v] See The Evolution of Soccer Infrastructure in the US, Poteau, https://poteau-app.com/en/blog/the-evolution-of-soccer-infrastructure-in-the-us.
[vi] See The Numbers Defining Soccer’s Growth Since 2020, For Soccer (Dec. 16, 2024), https://www.forsoccer.com/news/the-numbers-defining-soccers-growth-since-2020/.
[vii] Olivia Beilein & Rob Hackford, Buffalo Pro Soccer Eyes Downtown Stadium Location, Seeks Public Investment (Jan. 29, 2025), https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/buffalo-pro-soccer-begins-to-look-at-locations-for-stadium-wny-sports/71-e68e850c-8b43-4fa8-abdb-296071de53fa.
[viii] Sean Mickey, Soccer Group in Buffalo Lobbying for Public Funding of New Stadium, WGRZ (Nov. 29, 2024), https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/buffalo-soccer-group-lobbying-for-public-funding-of-new-stadium/71-5fb837d6-2e90-4434-8373-4bd3bfc2f0ae.
[ix] See Jim Fink, Buffalo Professional Soccer Eyeing Downtown Stadium Site, WBFO (Jan. 29, 2025), https://www.wbfo.org/local/2025-01-29/buffalo-professional-soccer-eyeing-downtown-stadium-site.
[x] See FC Cincinnati TQL Stadium, Turner Construction, https://www.turnerconstruction.com/projects/fc-cincinnati-mls-stadium#:~:text=The%20%24300%20million%20stadium%20has,throughout%20four%20premium%20club%20spaces.
[xi] Brett McCormick, Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club Unveil Development Proposal for Howard Terminal Site, Sports Business Journal (Dec. 30, 2024), https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/12/30/oakland-roots-soul-sports-club-howard-terminal/#:~:text=proposal%20bears%20fruit.-,In%20pursuit%20of%20a%20more%20permanent%20home%20for%20both%20its,engaging%20HOK%20for%20design%20help.
[xii] See Jacob Tierney, Soccer Stadium Construction Booms in Buffalo and Beyond, Buffalo Business First (Nov. 12, 2024), https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2024/11/12/buffalo-pro-soccer-stadium-construction-update.html.
Photo Credit: United Soccer League, https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/1305388.
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