Interesting.
The T-Birds would leave PBLO for 1 reason only and that is cost. They used to be one of the best developmental teams around. Obviously economics is cathing up to them. They are losing players left and right. I ran into several parents who were leaving due to the team leaving the PBLO.
Why would anyone not want to play against the best teams which are in the PBLO.
Wnen my son played T-Bird and Rebels they were in the CEBC. It was an inferior league to the PBLO and it was only in the fall he got to play teams like Ont Blue Jays, Astros and Team O Inc.
We used to play Buffalo teams and we always won handly. I enjoyed the games in the Sal Maglie Stadium. My concerns were the lack of competition in that league. The cost of playing is only worth it if the competition is high quality. I cannot speek to the level of 11-13 yo but the 17-18 level we dominated and we won the Great Lakes Sand Lot division .
If you want your son to develop you should be in the PBLO. I can see where economics will factor in to the quality of BB in the near future. I am glad my son is not going through that now.
OBA still offers a reasonable level of BB for younger players .