Soccer is here to stay at Buffalo: Location Confirmed for Privately Owned Pro Soccer Stadium

The city of sports continues to grow and expand with a newly confirmed Pro Soccer Stadium being built in the heart of the Queen City. A professional soccer team, a part of the United Soccer League, will be added to the list of sports that run Buffalo and its culture.¹ As of April 2025, President of Buffalo Pro Soccer, Peter Marlette, Jr., has chosen the new location for Buffalo Pro Soccer’s headquarters.²

After a few other choices were considered, including putting the location downtown near KeyBank Center, it was ultimately decided that Elk Street was the best location.³ Price played a major part in this decision, as the downtown location would have had a price tag of $40 million, while the Elk Street location will only cost $10 million.⁴ Peter Marlette, Jr., the president of the club, is a born and raised Buffalonian, who stated that he had analyzed the failure of the Rochester Rhinos and the impact of their stadium location.⁵ The importance of choosing the right location plays an important role in the success of the team, which has led to the choice of Elk Street.

Other factors considered and being dealt with are transportation through the NFTA to and from the stadium and from local bars to the games.⁶ In addition, there are around 1,500 parking spaces nearby, which is near the goal amount of around 2,200 spaces.⁷ The stadium will have around 7,600 seats, 12 hospitality suites, club level seats, and several private party areas.⁸ Not only will this stadium be used for soccer, but it will also be a multi-purpose stadium for all types of entertainment.⁹ The stadium will be creating a strong entertainment district alongside the new Shotclub social, an innovative golf range, and the PowerHouse, a premier events center.¹⁰ Acting City of Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon praised the announcement, noting that the decision to build on a former Buffalo Color site creates a vote of confidence in the community and in the future of the team.¹¹

Unlike the new Buffalo Bills stadium that has received over $850 million from the state and county taxpayers, this stadium will be completely privately funded.¹² The funding will come from the team’s equity investors, including the Buffalo Bills’ longest tenured player, Reid Ferguson.¹³ The private equity investors’ support for this venture goes to show their excitement and dedication to bringing a premier soccer league to Buffalo. The team is also partnering with the CEO of Viridi and founder of OSC, Jon M. Williams, who is a strong regional business leader.¹⁴

Buffalo’s sport center continues to expand with great community support and private investment dedication. The investors expect to complete stadium construction by the 2026 season, with a complete roster and a head coach yet to be named. ¹⁵

1. https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/lets-make-some-history-buffalo-pro-soccer-to-build-new-stadium ↩︎
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8. https://www.buffaloprosoccer.com/news/2025/04/11/buffalo-pro-soccer-to-build-new-stadium-in-the-city-of-buffalo/ ↩︎
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12. https://apnews.com/article/bills-stadium-cost-pegula-8c56fad9d970f2b17429d3ae779f70ba and https://www.buffaloprosoccer.com/news/2025/04/11/buffalo-pro-soccer-to-build-new-stadium-in-the-city-of-buffalo/ ↩︎
13. https://www.buffaloprosoccer.com/news/2025/04/11/buffalo-pro-soccer-to-build-new-stadium-in-the-city-of-buffalo/ ↩︎
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15. https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-pro-soccer-usl/buffalo-pro-soccer-president-says-elk-street-stadium-location-was-best-fit/ ↩︎

image credits: https://www.timesunion.com/churchill/article/churchill-buffalo-soccer-stadium-plan-offers-20275131.php