PAETEC Park
Encyclopedia
Sahlen's Stadium, formerly PAETEC Park and Marina Auto Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium
in Rochester, New York
, USA. It is home to the Rochester Rhinos soccer team of the USL Pro
league and the Western New York Flash of Women's Professional Soccer
. It is also home of the Major League Lacrosse
(MLL) professional men's field lacrosse
team Rochester Rattlers
. The stadium also hosts other sporting events such as collegiate soccer
, Doug Miller
Rochester Rhino Academy games, American football
, field hockey
and drum and bugle corps
competitions as well as concerts.
's original routing through Rochester
. This was also once the route of the Rochester Subway
, which was built in the old canal bed and ended operations in 1956. PAETEC Park was funded jointly by the state of New York
, the city of Rochester, and the Rhinos (the State of New York paying $23 million while the Rhinos and the city will pay the remaining amount). Infrastructure improvements will be paid for by the city of Rochester.
The park hit some minor stumbling blocks even before the first shovel hit dirt: the original designs needed to be revised when it was revealed that the playing field was below the water table
, and the environmental impact report revealed that the site had pockets of petroleum that needed to be treated. Notwithstanding these roadblocks, ground was broken on July 9, 2004, and Phase One of the construction was completed. The stadium had its grand opening (as PAETEC Park) on June 3, 2006, which featured the Rhinos' first home game of the season. The game was played in front of a capacity crowd of 13,768 fans and ended in a 2–2 draw against the Virginia Beach Mariners
.
to the park were purchased by PAETEC Communications
, a local telecommunications company, in 2004 for a reported total of $12.8 million over 22 years. Due to delays in construction, however, the amount had been reduced to $2.1 million over 12 years. When the previous owners of the Rhinos were forced to give up the team in early 2008, the agreement was voided. PAETEC then signed a new 1-year agreement with new owner Rob Clark's firm, the Adirondack Sports Club.
On December 11, 2008, it was announced that PAETEC would not renew their naming rights agreement when the contract expired in April 2009. The stadium then became known as Rochester Rhinos Stadium. In mid-2009, the team had a raffle to determine the naming rights for the stadium. For each $1,000 an individual, group, company, or other entity paid to the Rhinos, they would be given one chance to win the right to name the stadium. On May 30, 2009, the night of the Rhinos' 2009 home opener, Marina Auto Group, a Webster
-based automobile dealership group, won the raffle.
The Marina Auto name was retained through 2010 under a traditional naming rights agreement.
On February 10, 2011, it was announced that the new name of the stadium would be Sahlen's Stadium after the deal with Marina Auto expired. This was part of a ten-year naming rights agreement with Sahlen's Packing Company, Inc. of Buffalo, NY. The cost of the agreement was not released, but is estimated at about $2 million.
soccer teams of the USL First Division
and USL W-League
, respectively, and the Rochester Rattlers
of Major League Lacrosse
moved to the facility in 2006. The Rattlers were dissolved following the 2008 MLL season
, but returned for the 2011 MLL season
. The Rochester Rhinos Women dissolved and were replaced by the Rochester Ravens
in 2009.
PAETEC Park hosted Major League Lacrosse championship weekend
in 2007.
On June 5, 2010, the stadium was the site of the first outdoor game in Indoor Football League
history as the Rochester Raiders
faced off against the Chicago Slaughter with the Raiders triumphing 43-36.
The Drum Corps Associates
drum corps championships have been held at PAETEC every Labor Day weekend since 2006.
The Kickball League of Rochester (KLOR) was the first organized kickball league to hold regular season games in the stadium over the summer of 2009. The facility was also utilized to hold the playoff and championship games for that summer's Tuesday and Thursday night leagues.
The National Amateur Kickball Community of America (NACKA) now plays kickball there regularly, in Spring, Summer and Fall leagues. Championship games are played on the field at the end of each season.
On September 18, 2010 Courage Bowl VI was held at Marina Auto Stadium. The Courage Bowl is the annual football game between the St. John Fisher College Cardinals and the University of Rochester
Yellowjackets.
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, USA. It is home to the Rochester Rhinos soccer team of the USL Pro
USL Pro
The USL Professional Division, commonly known as USL Pro , is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011....
league and the Western New York Flash of Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...
. It is also home of the Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
(MLL) professional men's field lacrosse
Field lacrosse
Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....
team Rochester Rattlers
Rochester Rattlers
The Rochester Rattlers are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York. They are a charter member of the MLL. From their inaugural season in 2001 to 2005, they were in the National Division. From 2006 to 2008, they were a member of the Eastern...
. The stadium also hosts other sporting events such as collegiate soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
, Doug Miller
Doug Miller
Doug Miller is a U.S. soccer forward and a youth soccer coach. He spent one season in Major Indoor Soccer League and nine in the National Professional Soccer League, winning two championships and leading the league in scoring in 1998-1999. Miller also played ten seasons of outdoor soccer in the...
Rochester Rhino Academy games, American football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
and drum and bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps (modern)
A drum and bugle corps, also known as a drum corps, is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in competitions, parades, festivals, and other civic functions...
competitions as well as concerts.
History
The stadium was designed by HOK Sport (now Populous). It was constructed on a filled-in section of the Erie CanalErie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
's original routing through Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. This was also once the route of the Rochester Subway
Rochester Subway
The Rochester Subway or Rochester Industrial and Rapid Transit Railway was an underground rapid transit line in the city of Rochester, New York from 1927 to 1956. Contemporary photos show it used single streetcars, like Boston's Green Line, as a light rail line, with a large portion underground...
, which was built in the old canal bed and ended operations in 1956. PAETEC Park was funded jointly by the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the city of Rochester, and the Rhinos (the State of New York paying $23 million while the Rhinos and the city will pay the remaining amount). Infrastructure improvements will be paid for by the city of Rochester.
The park hit some minor stumbling blocks even before the first shovel hit dirt: the original designs needed to be revised when it was revealed that the playing field was below the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
, and the environmental impact report revealed that the site had pockets of petroleum that needed to be treated. Notwithstanding these roadblocks, ground was broken on July 9, 2004, and Phase One of the construction was completed. The stadium had its grand opening (as PAETEC Park) on June 3, 2006, which featured the Rhinos' first home game of the season. The game was played in front of a capacity crowd of 13,768 fans and ended in a 2–2 draw against the Virginia Beach Mariners
Virginia Beach Mariners
The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer...
.
Naming rights
Naming rightsNaming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to the park were purchased by PAETEC Communications
PAETEC Holding Corp.
PAETEC Holding Corp. is a FORTUNE 1000 telecommunications company headquartered in Perinton, New York, USA. It was founded as the private company PaeTec Communications, Inc. in 1998 by its current CEO, Arunas A. Chesonis...
, a local telecommunications company, in 2004 for a reported total of $12.8 million over 22 years. Due to delays in construction, however, the amount had been reduced to $2.1 million over 12 years. When the previous owners of the Rhinos were forced to give up the team in early 2008, the agreement was voided. PAETEC then signed a new 1-year agreement with new owner Rob Clark's firm, the Adirondack Sports Club.
On December 11, 2008, it was announced that PAETEC would not renew their naming rights agreement when the contract expired in April 2009. The stadium then became known as Rochester Rhinos Stadium. In mid-2009, the team had a raffle to determine the naming rights for the stadium. For each $1,000 an individual, group, company, or other entity paid to the Rhinos, they would be given one chance to win the right to name the stadium. On May 30, 2009, the night of the Rhinos' 2009 home opener, Marina Auto Group, a Webster
Webster (town), New York
Webster is a town in the northeast corner of Monroe County, New York, United States. The town is named after orator and statesman Daniel Webster. The population was 42,641 at the 2010 census....
-based automobile dealership group, won the raffle.
The Marina Auto name was retained through 2010 under a traditional naming rights agreement.
On February 10, 2011, it was announced that the new name of the stadium would be Sahlen's Stadium after the deal with Marina Auto expired. This was part of a ten-year naming rights agreement with Sahlen's Packing Company, Inc. of Buffalo, NY. The cost of the agreement was not released, but is estimated at about $2 million.
Events
The Rochester Rhinos and Rochester Rhinos WomenRochester Ravens
The Rochester Ravens are an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2009 . The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada...
soccer teams of the USL First Division
USL First Division
The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....
and USL W-League
W-League
The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
, respectively, and the Rochester Rattlers
Rochester Rattlers
The Rochester Rattlers are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York. They are a charter member of the MLL. From their inaugural season in 2001 to 2005, they were in the National Division. From 2006 to 2008, they were a member of the Eastern...
of Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
moved to the facility in 2006. The Rattlers were dissolved following the 2008 MLL season
2008 MLL season
The 2008 Major League Lacrosse season was the 8th season of the league. The season began on May 17, 2008 and concluded with the championship game on August 24, 2008.-Pre-season:...
, but returned for the 2011 MLL season
2011 MLL season
The 2011 Major League Lacrosse season was the 11th season of the league. The season began on May 14, 2011 and concluded with the championship game on August 28, 2011.-Team movement:...
. The Rochester Rhinos Women dissolved and were replaced by the Rochester Ravens
Rochester Ravens
The Rochester Ravens are an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2009 . The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada...
in 2009.
PAETEC Park hosted Major League Lacrosse championship weekend
Steinfeld Cup
The Steinfeld Cup is the trophy given annually to the winners ofthe New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship. It is named after MLL founder Jake Steinfeld...
in 2007.
On June 5, 2010, the stadium was the site of the first outdoor game in Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
history as the Rochester Raiders
Rochester Raiders
The Rochester Raiders are a professional indoor football team based in the Rochester, New York area. They are currently a member of the Indoor Football League and play their home games at the Dome Arena in the suburb of Henrietta...
faced off against the Chicago Slaughter with the Raiders triumphing 43-36.
The Drum Corps Associates
Drum Corps Associates
Drum Corps Associates is the governing body for modern senior or all-age drum and bugle corps in North America. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps International which governs junior drum corps...
drum corps championships have been held at PAETEC every Labor Day weekend since 2006.
The Kickball League of Rochester (KLOR) was the first organized kickball league to hold regular season games in the stadium over the summer of 2009. The facility was also utilized to hold the playoff and championship games for that summer's Tuesday and Thursday night leagues.
The National Amateur Kickball Community of America (NACKA) now plays kickball there regularly, in Spring, Summer and Fall leagues. Championship games are played on the field at the end of each season.
On September 18, 2010 Courage Bowl VI was held at Marina Auto Stadium. The Courage Bowl is the annual football game between the St. John Fisher College Cardinals and the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
Yellowjackets.