By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

A memorable and successful chapter in Rochester, N.Y. soccer history closed on Friday, with a whimper and not with a bang.

Rochester New York FC, which battled the bested the best in Major League Soccer as the Rochester Rhi,nos during its heyday, announced that it had ceased operations and won’t compete in MLS NEXT Pro for a second season.

Team owners David and Wendy Dworkin said the club could not find additional financing to continue to play in the third tier of American professional soccer.

“It is with a heavy heart and a great sense of disappointment that we share with you Rochester NY Football Club will not participate in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season,” the Dworkins said in a statement on the team’s website.

“This decision involved a great deal of input from many stakeholders including MLS NEXT Pro and was not one we arrived at lightly. Our full intention for 2023 was to reward RNYFC supporters with another exciting season of professional soccer in Rochester. Our fans turned out in great numbers in 2022, cheered loudly, and were as impassioned as the players themselves.”

On Twitter, MLS NEXT Pro said that “We would like to thank the Rochester community, their fans and ownership for their support of the club and MLS NEXT Pro.”

English international and Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was a co-owner of the club, which was relaunched in 2022. The team played at Monroe Community College. Apparently, he did not return for this season.

“We set out in search of a viable way to continue for the 2023 season and beyond,” the Dworkins said. “We met with some international soccer team owners to establish a technical relationship that would help reduce the operating costs of running the team. Other international team owners explored a minority investment in the Club, but unfortunately none of those opportunities materialized or would have taken several years to implement.

“Most recently, we were in advanced discussions with an ownership group to acquire a majority interest in RNYFC. However, the purchasing group decided not to proceed earlier this week as we were moving to close. This left us with no time and no choice but to decline fielding a team in 2023.”

As the Rhinos, the team had great aspirations in its early years, with hope of joining MLS. It certainly was the most competitive of A-League teams in its first five seasons, winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1999 and two league titles.

After the 2017 USL Championship season, Dworkins announced the team would go dormant. Five years later, it returned as the lone independent club in MLS NEXT Pro.

“When we relaunched the club after a five year hiatus we, like so many of you, were excited about the future. While our first year was fraught with challenges, we nonetheless persevered and qualified for the playoffs,” the Dworkins said. “As we began the offseason it became apparent that to stay competitive, we would need a significantly greater investment in many aspects of the Club. Despite increased attendance, including the addition of nearly 600 temporary seats at our last match, the unfortunate reality is the current infrastructure coupled with other challenges resulted in no path to sustainability.”

The Dworkins added that they needed a larger stadium for the team to grow.

“Monroe Community College was an extraordinary partner, and the game day experience was special,” they said. “However, a professional team needs a more robust infrastructure to create economies of scale.

“Again, we thank the RNYFC sponsors and supporters who made 2022 a special season. Fans who ordered 2023 season tickets will have their purchases refunded in full beginning Tuesday March 21 with more information being sent by email.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.