 The Halifax Thunderbirds franchise will be owned by current Rochester Knighthawks owner Curt Styres, who in turn sold the Knighthawks intellectual property, name and logo, to Pegula Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Buffalo Bandits).As part of the expansion, the Halifax team will be a relocation of the previous Rochester Knighthawks (1995-2019) while the new Rochester Knighthawks will be treated as an expansion franchise beginning with an expansion draft in 2019.On December 11, 2018, Sakiewicz announced that New York would be awarded an expansion franchise to begin play during the 2019-2020 season.