This is a significant step in the process which kicked off two years ago as ECHDC began studying the feasibility of bringing ships to Buffalo, ultimately looking at six different waterfront sites for the docking facility. The two most discussed locations were the redeveloped DL&W train shed or a location on the Outer Harbor, with the latter winning out as the preferred location for ECHDC.
The announcement is a major benchmark in the process to bring a premier professional soccer franchise to Buffalo. Buffalo Pro Soccer President Peter Marlette Jr. has been consistent in his plan to launch the team for the 2026 season and finalizing a stadium site was vital if that timeline is to be met.
This is the second site to be connected to the team, as a preferred site in the Cobblestone District on the HSBC Artium lot owned by Douglas Jemal was previously announced. That site would have required a public investment of about $20 million per reports. Although the downtown site was far and away the best location for the stadium, if the public funding wasn’t going to be available, there isn’t much more to say about shifting away from the Cobblestone site.
Thursday will be the first opportunity for many Sabres fans to see the team’s new scoreboard in person, among other improvements made at KeyBank Center.
The new scoreboard is a massive improvement, literally and figuratively, for the building. Pictures don’t do it justice, it’s a stark difference in size and quality within the seating bowl. Few, if any, who questioned the need for a new scoreboard will have those questions answered when they see the new screen in action. It is a truly impressive addition.
With apologies to the work done on the roof, the scoreboard is the first major step the club has taken in an effort to renovate their 28 year old building. Future plans for the structure remain unknown, but Pete Guelli hasn’t been coy on the subject and I won’t be surprised if more work is to come next offseason.
In the meantime, it’s possible that the Sabres will have a new neighbor, one that could tie the area around the arena and Canalside into a more cohesive arena district.
Buffalo Pro Soccer is down to their final two locations for their stadium site, and The Buffalo News lots are one of the two finalists. There’s a long way to go yet, and it’s entirely possible their other location is where they aim to build, but the potential for the club to call the Cobblestone District home could serve as a shot in the arm to further development in the area.
Peter Marlette, President of Buffalo Pro Soccer joined the show to discuss his efforts to bring a USL Championship club to Buffalo. We discuss a wide range of topics with Peter regarding his bid for a USL club including the key benchmarks left to complete, goals for academy and youth integration and, of course, stadium questions. Peter was an open book, providing great insights on every facet of his work and what’s still to come. The interview left us that much more excited for what’s to come in the coming weeks and months from Peter and Buffalo Pro Soccer.
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News coverage of the plans to bring a USL Championship franchise to Buffalo indicate there is heavy lifting to be done in order to secure funding for the franchise and to get a stadium built. Getting all of that done before the summer of 2026 sounds like a particularly challenging task. Logic would dictate that if everything else is accounted for, the team will play at a temporary home while their new digs are constructed. Western New York isn’t short on adequate sites and while it may lack any semblance of character or charm, UB Stadium seems like an adequate solution for that first season or two.
Figuring out where the stadium will go makes for a fun conversation as The Buffalo News notes the desire for the stadium to go downtown. The capacity figure of 10,000 referenced by the News is encouraging for a number of reasons. First, it would make for a terrific atmosphere at full capacity for USL games. Second, it’s right-sized for the void between in the area’s concert venues. The imbalance between smaller venues, the arena and stadium make it hard for many acts to hit WNY unless they’re playing Artpark or Darien Lake. Even if the capacity was only 7,500 for soccer, this would become an ideal venue for summertime concerts. That size also makes this ideal for events like the Chicken Wing Festival (which seems to be dwarfed by Highmark Stadium) and high school playoffs and championships, giving even more opportunity for this to serve as a community asset.
Stadiums in the USL really run the gamut in terms of design and function. There are a lot of open-air soccer stadiums but quite a few shared venues and converted baseball stadiums. Colorado Springs has a very impressive venue that opened in 2021 at a cost of $42 million. Milwaukee is in the process of building a venue for their upcoming USL franchise that is stunning. Milwaukee’s Iron District Stadium is precisely the type of venue I hope to see built here (minus the hotel and housing element). The street-level activation would make this a terrific fit for a number of neighborhoods around the city and the intimate design and covered stand allow for a variety of events to be hosted, an ideal fit for Buffalo.
It’s encouraging to see downtown suggested as the destination for the stadium, but where exactly might it go? There are a few spots within the city which ought to garner attention, with some far more favorable than others. Some of these are more realistic than others as well. This list is meant to encourage some thought and conversation over where this stadium can, or should go.
The battle over what should occupy Buffalo’s waterfront has been roaring for the better part of two decades, as the early aughts brought us Bass Pro, an evolving vision for Canalside and eventually to where we are now. Which is, to say, not too far off from where we started.
Much of the progress we’ve seen has come in spite of the hucksters who weasel their way into any project of merit whose developer isn’t formidable enough to shoo them away. Other opportunities have been outright lost due to the pervasive obstructionists that seeps into much of the public discourse in the city. The Aud has been gone for over 10 years and we still have the empty pit to show for it.
That hasn’t kept Buffalo’s resident carnival barkers, the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, from concocting silly plans for projects he has no stake in. The group’s latest venture is a suspension bridge meant to connect the Inner and Outer Harbors. It’s a terrific idea until you see the route chosen by the group for their million-dollar deathtrap.
Protracted preservation battles have become something of a cottage industry in these parts. In fact, you might just call it an industry for some.
The latest battle has centered around the Great Northern grain elevator after the building’s northern wall collapsed. The usual players have taken sides for and against demolition after it was announced Archer Daniels Midland planned to bring the building down.
News has been mostly good for those hoping to save the structure as they won another favorable ruling in court this week. Doug Jemal has also expressed interest in buying the structure in order to preserve it. What exactly his plans would be are unknown, but if there’s a developer in the area capable of actually saving the building, it would be Jemal.
Tim Tielman came out from under his bridge to get his obligatory quotes in The Buffalo News while other developers such as Rocco Termini and Paul Ciminelli have voiced their support in saving the structure. It’s a good sign for those who hope to keep the elevator intact that Jemal has shown the propensity to hit the ground running with projects he takes on. Something that the preservation community in Western New York has not done.
Whether or not that means the structure should be saved, I’m not sure. I think there are just as many good reasons to keep it as there are reasons to bring it down.
It’s hardly a surprising decision given Jemal’s track record in the city. But it’s still comes with a sliver of disappointment, as we’ll be missing out on the plan pitched by Passero Associates, SAA EVI and McGuire Development. Their plan, which I wrote about here, felt like the best of the three finalists for the property. It was a unique plan that offered something of a big-city vibe. It would’ve added some height to that section of downtown and just generally looked really cool.
Designating Jemal as the developer of the Mohawk Ramp isn’t a bad thing, of course. The pace at which his projects move is warp speed when compared to other local developers. He’s proven that he has the skill and resources to make the Mohawk Ramp redevelopment and impressive addition to downtown.
Awarding the Mohawk Ramp to Jemal also creates synergy with his very impressive plans for the Simon Electric properties. Jemal was on record saying he was doing the Simon properties with or without the ramp, but if awarding him the ramp helps push the various phases of the Simon project forward, it will be a net win.
Perhaps the combine inertia of the two development plans will move up the phased development Jemal initially pitched for the Mohawk garage.
We’ve seen Jemal’s penchant for shifting plans to better fit his overall vision. Namely with the Seneca One redevelopment. Could we see him jump right to phase two of the phased development plans initially released for Huron and Ellicott Streets?
It’s refreshing to know that even if the most attractive development option wasn’t selected for a downtown parcel that we can have confidence in what’s to come. What Jemal’s plan may be lacking curb appeal will certainly be made up for in the time it takes to reach the finish line.
It’s also unfair of me to paint the Jemal project in such an unflattering light. The Douglas plan is a good one. The city was in a difficult spot as they were presented with a number of projects which were deserving of praise. The building that’s to replace the Mohawk Ramp may not have the vertical height as the others, but it’s still going to look great. The lead image on this Buffalo Risingpost shows the initial rendering for a building that will be at home in downtown Buffalo. At least in this image, the garage portion is obscured, the brick exterior fits the surrounding area and the street level retail and restaurants will be a welcome addition to that strip. If this looks even half as good as Douglas’ Brookland Press project in DC, it will be an excellent addition to downtown.
There’s even some expectation that the Gold Wynn will still seek to build the glass tower they pitched for the site. It would be unfair to assume that Passero, EVI SAA and McGuire would follow suit with their project, but it would certainly be a welcome and exciting decision. The wake of this decision could bring about more exciting projects that fill in some of the gaps downtown.
The momentum along Ellicott really puts the phrase of a rising tide lifting all boats to the test. We are too far away from upwards of seven newly renovated buildings coming on line along a strip of the city which already includes Big Ditch, Tappo and is just around the corner from the Theater District and Roosevelt Square.
It’s exciting news, even if the plan wasn’t my absolute favorite of the bunch.
There really was never going to be much of a question over where the Bills new stadium was going to be built. While the conversation over a downtown or Orchard Park site was a valuable one to have, the die was cast when the Bills released their report indicating their preference to build in Orchard Park.
“Concerned” downtown developers can turn their attention to other causes now that Governor Hochul said the state will accept the Bills’ preferred site across Abbott Rd. in Orchard Park. The Pegulas held the hammer on this and barring extraordinary circumstances, the state and county were always going to play ball with regard to where they wanted to build (humorous as it may be considering they’re asking the public to pay for so much of this project).
Rendering by Populous, I think.
Maintaining the status quo in Orchard Park is a fine conclusion to this process. The Bills can continue to play next door to their training facilities and offices, the fans get to keep tailgating and the price tag will be slightly more palatable for all parties involved. A more streamlined construction schedule and lower land acquisition costs all add up as positive factors for a new stadium in Orchard Park.
The limitations of a suburban stadium will remain as well. Below average access and limited offseason uses being chief among them.
We certainly don’t lose anything with the construction of a new stadium in Orchard Park. But we don’t really gain anything either, and I think that’s the one lasting question I’ll have once the new building is finished. What, if anything, will we have missed by not building in the city? There are many, many issues at play, but there are a few overarching topics which probably needed more attention than they got.
Enduring a years-long process of redesigns, stops and starts seems to be a rite of passage for virtually every project in and around Buffalo’s waterfront. It’s not different for the DL&W train shed as the NFTA and various stakeholders push to redevelop the building into something that can better complement the Cobblestone District and Canalside.
Photo: Buffalo Rising
You can go back at least to 2009 to find references to the DL&W becoming a more integral part of the waterfront entertainment district. Much like the pit at the North Aud Block, or the hockey team across the street, not much has been done in the ensuing 12 years.
The DL&W project has hit for the proverbial Buffalo development cycle. There have been multiple setsof renderings, the Project for Public Spaces has gotten involved and Tim Tielman has even managed to get his name in the coverage at various stages. All of this without any serious work moving forward.
There has been progress, of course. The new NFTA station on the first floor is under construction. While continuous rounds of renderings can be silly, a project plan under the guidance of Sam Savarino is coming together and it appears this project has reached a critical mass. It’s all very exciting as the building’s unique layout and location makes it an incredible asset for Buffalo’s waterfront.
Two in the Box 