The newest owner of the Rochester Rhinos believes the allegations of fiscal incompetence leveled at Rhinos partner Steve Donner in a lawsuit are “baseless.”
Chris Wilmot, who purchased 3 percent each of the Rhinos men, Rhinos women, Rattlers and PAETEC Park in December and began working for the team in January, also said the city of Rochester should do more to support the soccer team and its stadium and that his ultimate goal remains bringing Major League Soccer to Rochester.
In an interview before the Rhinos’ win over Carolina Friday, Wilmot said he believes Donner, who also co-owns the Americans hockey and Knighthawks indoor lacrosse teams, when he asserts that the charges of financial mismanagement brought by Amerks co-owner Randall LaTona in recent legal action have no truth to them.
“Steve claims, and I believe him, that the allegations are baseless,” Wilmot said.
He admitted that news of the lawsuit, which was filed in May, was somewhat upsetting.
“From the perspective of (the Rhinos’) organization, it certainly wasn’t wonderful to see that front-page, above-the-fold headline a few Saturdays ago,” said Wilmot, who does not co-own any of the Amerks and Knighthawks. “On the other hand, my dealings with Steve Donner have always been satisfactory and acceptable.
“Frankly,” he added, “I wouldn’t be a (Rhinos) co-owner without Steve Donner.”
Wilmot also addressed other issues facing the Rhinos, including low attendance at soccer matches. Wilmot was brought on board to boost the teams’ sales and marketing efforts, and since he started working for the teams in January, he’s focused on ways to bring more fans to PAETEC Park.
One of his primary efforts has been securing signage directing fans to the new stadium. Noting that there are virtually no such signs at this point, he said he’s received a commitment from the state DOT to post signs along the westbound lanes on Interstate 490.
However, he’s still working on procuring signs for the eastbound lanes of the freeway, as well as signs in the city helping fans once they exit 490. He said the city of Rochester should be willing to erect such signs.
And on that note, Wilmot said city officials haven’t done enough to support the Rhinos and PAETEC Park. He asserted that he’s been trying to schedule meetings with Mayor Bob Duffy and City Council President Lois Giess for several months to no avail.
“I know Lois and Bob Duffy personally. They’re good people,” Wilmot said. “But they need to be more proactive. We need more support from the city. (The Rhinos) are reaching out to them. We need to see that they’re reaching out to us.”
One way the city could help the teams is by assuring fans that PAETEC Park is located in a safe neighborhood, Wilmot said. However, he said, the Rhinos and Rattlers haven’t adequately addressed those concerns, either.
“The team needs to fully address people’s concerns about the neighborhood,” Wilmot said. “We need to address them directly as an organization. It IS a safe neighborhood.”
He said the stadium has plenty of security staff and lighting, and he noted that 750 additional parking spaces will hopefully open soon at the Kleen Brite site.
“The stadium is gorgeous,” he said, “but we could have more fans. We have a challenge with the location, but the facility itself is beautiful.”
Wilmot said his biggest long-term priority is getting the Rhinos to Major League Soccer.
“The ultimate goal,” he said, “is to get to MLS. It’s not impossible.
“If we had the Los Angeleses, the Chicagos, the New Yorks of the world coming here, out attendance would increase,” he added.
To get there, he said, the construction of PAETEC Park needs to be completed, and the teams’ financial situation needs to be stabilized by attracting owners who can bring “new money” and “new blood” to the organization. He said the addition of himself and Peter Bourne to the ownership group will hopefully be the start of that process.
“As a co-owner, it’s my job to solicit a significant infusion of cash to complete this facility and be ready if the opportunity for MLS presents itself,” he said.
