Expansion is once again on the horizon for Major League Rugby. After a tumultuous 2025 offseason cut the United States Men’s Professional League in half, MLR and potential ownership group Buffalo have taken the first steps to establish a professional rugby club in Western New York by the 2028 season.
The future club is the Buffalo Thunderbolts Rugby Club, which was incorporated as a legal entity in the state of New York on October 30, 2026. The project is led by film producer Joe DiPasquale and ex-Miami Sharks CEO Mark Winokur.
The Thunderbolts – a name inspired by a World War II aircraft produced at the Curtiss Aviation Works in Buffalo – also have the support of Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and New York State Assemblyman Bill Conrad. Discussions about securing the stadium are underway, and the ownership group is working on acquiring further investment and sponsorship contracts.
“Buffalo is one of America’s greatest sports cities and we would love to welcome you back Major League Rugby to our community,” said Mayor Sean Ryan. “I am proud to support the efforts of Joe DiPasquale and Mark Winokur to bring an expansion team to Buffalo. This is an opportunity to build on our city’s proud sporting tradition, introduce more people to rugby and give our fans another team to get behind.”
The Letter of Intent (LOI) signed by both parties is the first of three major steps in the MLR expansion process. In the coming months, the Buffalo group must finalize its ownership group, provide proof of capitalization, demonstrate its expected fan engagement process and demonstrate its preliminary plans for business opportunities.
The league will determine whether those plans are acceptable by the end of April. If all goes well, the Thunderbolts and MLR will sign an exclusive negotiating agreement, which will give the Buffalo group rights to that territory (western New York) for a certain period of time. After that, the Thunderbolts will submit a final bid to secure the franchise agreement.
Major League Rugby co-president Alexander Magleby told RugbyPass that MLR hopes to announce two new franchises after the 2027 premiership. The league’s stated goal is to have eight teams enter the 2028 season, and twelve by 2031. Rugby World Cup in the US it’s going around.
The LOI doesn’t guarantee Buffalo will end up with the MLR franchise, but it’s a big step in the right direction. It signals that both sides are willing to go public with their discussions, which of course allows the Thunderbolts to appeal for public and private support.
Magleby said the league is “currently in discussions with 17 different (ownership) groups,” with some still going through the initial stages of due diligence and others, like Buffalo, getting ready to sign LOIs.
With the various ownership groups interested, there will be plenty of competition for the franchise’s two expansion slots. The most competitive bids will ultimately be the winners, and this will depend on the economic and sporting value each bidder can bring to US Rugby.
Still, both sides are excited about the prospect of a professional franchise coming to Western New York; after all, Buffalo is a mid-market city with a 60-year rugby union tradition and close ties to several universities and Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolitan area.
DiPasquale, who describes himself as a “huge rugby fan,” admits there has been a gap in the regional market since Rugby United New York, the Toronto Wolfpack and the Arrows folded. Appealing to a market that fervently supports its sports teams and recently introduced rugby to its high school sports offerings makes perfect sense to DiPasquale.
“Number one is the rugby culture here,” DiPasquale said when asked about bringing a rugby team to Buffalo. “The support we’ve gotten from the mayor, Assemblyman Conrad and sponsors has been incredible. That component alone makes this market incredibly perfect for this.”
The Major League Rugby season takes place between the last weekend of March and the end of June, avoiding the NFL season entirely and overlapping slightly with the NHL postseason. As DiPasquale says, “Rugby season is coming along perfectly. Unless the (Buffalo) Sabers make the playoffs, nothing is going to happen.”
“Rugby has been an instrumental part of my life since I was very young, when I played for SUNY Fredonia and later founded the Kenmore Rugby Club and coached kids in the sport for many years,” said New York State Rep. Bill Conrad, 140th District. “I love the game and what it has done for my personal growth, my physical fitness and self-discipline, and my understanding of teamwork and leadership. I welcome any opportunity to introduce more of the world to the sport, and Buffalo offers an already strong base of rugby players, boosters and fans. I couldn’t agree more that it is a logical expansion for MLR!”
While the goal is to solidify the franchise and attract supporters from Western New York and Ontario, the potential ownership group is realistic about its short-term ambitions. They are in “very serious meetings” for a venue that could hold up to 10,000 fans, though DiPasquale said they will shoot for 3,000 to 5,000 fans to begin with.
“I believe we (Buffalo) are also a leader in sports in the US,” DiPasquale said. “Buffalo could have an exponential impact on the league,” he added, before comparing the location and the new franchise to historically large NFL city and franchise Green Bay.
