Rochester plans to boot Rhinos from stadium. Owners' response: Not so fast

The Rochester Rhinos won’t play any soccer matches this year but their owners may do battle with the city of Rochester.

City officials sent a letter to Rhinos owners David and Wendy Dworkin, dated Jan. 19, saying their decision to not field a team in the USL for the 2018 season puts them in default of their lease as operator of Capelli Sport Stadium, Rochester’s downtown soccer park. The city, which owns the facility, has given the owners until midnight Feb. 28 to vacate the facility.

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“I don’t agree with it,” David Dworkin said Tuesday evening, adding that he and his wife, “like in any lease deal are going to protect our interests and protect professional soccer in Rochester. Guess what: If we don’t have a stadium, we won’t have a team.”

The owners announced Nov. 30 that they were taking the 2018 season off to assess their business moving forward and hoped to return in 2019. David Dworkin said the letter was the first communication he and his wife have had with “anyone from City Hall,” since before their Nov. 15 announcement that the club needed $1.3 million in new revenue by Dec. 1 to field a team in 2018.

The timing of that was tied to player contracts for 2018 being signed. For the first time since 1995, Rochester won’t have a professional soccer team playing matches.

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The city says the Rhinos are in default on two loosely worded clauses in Section 15.01 (e) of the lease. “Your decision results in ceasing ‘use of the Stadium for professional soccer play,’ and abandonment of your right to ‘participate as a team in a recognized professional soccer league.’ ”

But — and here’s where the language is key — the United Soccer League told the Rhinos it would remain a league member in good standing for 2018 even if Rochester didn’t field a team. The USL also has agreed to play a handful of matches this year at Capelli Sport Stadium featuring other USL teams.

As operator, the Dworkins also could try to host concerts or other events at the stadium in 2018. The Rhinos also said they plan to operate their youth academy and its teams in 2018.

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“It’s a legal matter so what we can say is limited but I believe that we met the terms and conditions of our lease. Clearly, I disagree with this letter,” said Wendy Dworkin, who has a law degree.

The Rhinos are current with rent payments to the city, David Dworkin said. The annual cost of that, as per the lease, is $50,000.

For the past several years, the city has paid about $650,000 annually for utilities and maintenance on the stadium and team offices for the Rhinos. The 22-year-old club has seen attendance steadily decline since it moved from Frontier Field to open what was then a new soccer stadium in 2006. Insufficient support from corporate sponsors also has been an issue in recent years.

The Dworkins, who live in Brighton, saved the Rhinos from becoming extinct a couple years ago.

The city’s letter also states it “will immediately initiate efforts to redeploy use and/or ownership of the stadium for the forthcoming spring and summer seasons.”

The Dworkins took over the club in early 2016 after the city terminated its lease with former owner Rob Clark, citing outstanding bills and unpaid rent, among other issues. Clark told the Democrat and Chronicle exclusively in November that he still owns all of the office furniture, food prep and other equipment in concession stands at the stadium as well as high-tech video equipment that runs the 2-year-old scoreboard, purchased by the city just before the Dworkins took over in March 2016.

The equipment and furnishings are worth more than $1 million, based on an appraiser’s estimate, Clark said. Clark, David Dworkin, a city official and an appraiser went through the stadium together in the fall to get estimates on equipment and furnishings. It’s unclear where that has any impact on the city’s decision to evict the Dworkins.

The city’s letter did end by saying that Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren “has offered to discuss this (lease matter) in person if you would like.” The letter was signed by the city’s lawyer, Timothy R. Curtin.

“We’ve looked at (the letter). Now we plan to huddle with our attorneys,” David Dworkin said.

JDIVERON@Gannett.com