The defending USL champions have lost their owner.
The league announced Tuesday that it has terminated the Adirondack Sports Club’s ownership of the Rochester Rhinos for failing to meet USL standards. According to a release, the league is currently operating the franchise and has retained all staff and personnel as it moves toward the 2016 season, when the Rhinos begin defense of their first USL title.
USL officials, led by CMO Tom Veit, are now in Rochester working with city officials and other stakeholders to ensure the franchise’s long-term success.
“On behalf of the USL, I am going to take every step possible to maintain the Rhinos’ position in Rochester’s sporting landscape,” said Veit, former founding president of the Philadelphia Union and PPL Park, in a statement. “The Rhinos are open for business, and looking forward to defending their USL Championship in 2016.”
The USL had been working with Adirondack Sports Club over several months to rectify failures to meet USL standards, according to the league, concerning both internal and external operational issues. The city, which owns Sahlen’s Stadium, where the Rhinos play, informed Adirondack Sports Club CEO Rob Clark that it was terminating the team’s lease at the facility, as reported by the Democrat & Chronicle.
Clark told the Democrat & Chronicle that the league terminated its franchise agreement last month after he told the USL that his ownership group didn’t plan to operate the team next year.
