The Rochester Rhinos will not be playing at their local stadium next year.
David and Wendy Dworkin, who took ownership of the team last year, say that they will take a one-year hiatus from having the Rhinos play in the United Soccer League.
This comes after the Dworkins recently said they needed to raise $1.3 million in order to field a team for 2018.
“I never would have contemplated just shutting down because to me the idea of shutting down is it’s over," said David Dworkin. "A hiatus allows us the opportunity to retool and try to build our foundation.”
But in a statement released on the day of the deadline they set for themselves, the Dworkins say that while the community did rally, significant gaps remain in the effort to get corporate support and season ticket sales; they have also been trying to a share of Monroe County’s hotel room occupancy tax. The County has no current plans to include the stadium.
"It’s wrong," said David Dworkin. "I mean, the facility is a facility that utilizes hotel rooms. It is a hotel tax that’s designed to provide support for those that bring in events. We had the ‘drum-and-bugle for DC’ last year with 5,000 hotel rooms. Those hotel rooms created a tax. That tax went to facilities that’s not this one.”
The club will remain in good standing with the USL throughout the 2018 season, and the Dworkins say that Capelli Sport Stadium will host several other USL games next year. The Junior Rhinos soccer program will continue next year. The say they're hoping to build on the momentum from the last month.
Fans who ordered tickets for the Rhinos for 2018 will get refunds though they can also donate this sum to USL. Capelli stadium is owned by the city of Rochester, and besides some of the soccer matches it is expected to be used for other events as well.
There’s no word yet when a decision will be made on whether team can be fielded for 2019, and the Dworkins also say that while their intent is not to move the team to a new city in 2019, they cannot rule that out.
The City of Rochester had this reaction in a statement released after the Rhinos announcement:
“The City of Rochester remains supportive of our professional soccer team,” said James Smith, Director of the City’s Communications and Special Events Bureau. “While understandable, the decision by the owners of the Rochester Rhinos to suspend play next year is, nonetheless, disappointing on many levels. Rochester has a long history of professional soccer and today’s announcement is clearly a disappointment for our region’s soccer community and fans. Obviously this decision also calls into question the future of the soccer stadium itself and how that will impact the neighborhoods that surround it.
“Since the City inherited this facility, it has been a budgetary challenge. Nonetheless, Rochester has invested significant funds into the ongoing maintenance, operation and capital needs of the facility – having spent nearly $1.6 million over the past two years alone.
“While it is disappointing that the Rhinos were not able to attract additional community support for their business model, it is not feasible or appropriate for City government to subsidize the team’s operation given the already large public investment being made in the facility.
“With the decision to suspend team operations next year, City officials will need to meet with the Rhinos management to discuss how their decision fits within the existing lease agreement.”
