USL D3: Rochester Rhinos will resume operations in 2020 -- in new facility
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Aug 22, 2018
But they will play in USL Division III, which is slated to begin in 2019, and at a new facility after 11 years at Capelli Sport Stadium.
"After careful consideration and discussions with a number of our stadium partners and the United Soccer League, and after assessing the totality of our last three years as a tenant of the City of Rochester, we have determined that it is time for the Rochester Rhinos to move on from this venue," said Rhinos co-owners David and Wendy Dworkin in a statement.
They added that they had preliminarily identified several possible sites for a new multi-purpose stadium within Monroe County.
The decision to take a one-year hiatus came after the Rhinos failed to raise the support they said they needed from the community -- $1.3 million from season-ticket and sponsorship sales -- by the end of November 2017.
In 2017, the Rhinos averaged just 2,031 fans a game, the second lowest, above only Charlotte, among the USL's independent teams. Before 2016, the Rhinos never averaged under 5,000 fans a game in their 20 seasons.
They averaged a season-high of 11,628 in 1999 when they played in the USL A-League and won the Open Cup. They moved into their new soccer stadium in 2006.
Capelli Sport Stadium hosted several USL regular-season contests involving Toronto FC in 2018.
