Downtown stadium changes name for at least 3 years

Listen to this article

One of the country’s longest stadium naming-rights deals is ending, with Rochester’s downtown stadium set to become Innovative Field in 2023.

Frontier Communications has been the naming-rights holder since the county-owned stadium opened in 1996. The original 20-year sponsorship contract was extended for another 10 years in 2015.

But with Frontier emerging from bankruptcy, the nearly $300,000 per year paid by the company for naming-rights fees at the home of Triple-A baseball’s Rochester Red Wings may not have worked well with creditors.

So Innovative Solutions is assuming the existing contract and will pay $298,000 for the upcoming season, with 5 percent increases for 2024 and 2025.

Innovative Solutions, based in Henrietta, is the leading provider of information technology services for growing businesses on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The firm was founded in 1988 and has enjoyed significant growth over the past three decades, with expansion to Toronto, Chicago and Austin.

“Our first 30 years in business were centered in Rochester,” Justin Copie, owner and CEO of Innovative Solutions, said in a news release. “In that time, we helped thousands of small businesses in our region use technology to help them grow.

“While we’ve grown nationally and internationally, Rochester remains our home, and we’re fortunate to be in a position where we can quite literally plant our flag at the home of the fan-favorite Rochester Red Wings. This is our way of doubling down on growth in our region.”

Naming rights fees are paid to Monroe County. The county legislature must approve the new deal.

“From George Eastman to Chester Carlson, Monroe County has produced business innovators that give back to the community — and the tradition continues with Innovative Solutions,” County Executive Adam Bello said. “Innovative’s commitment to our region is clear, and Innovative Field is a great example of that. Monroe County is proud that Innovative Solutions has chosen to remain here and continue growing with the access to talent, resources, and quality of life we all know and love.”

Rochester’s downtown arena also has had only one corporate name. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield bought the naming rights in September of 1998 for 15 years, and renewed the deal for another 15 years in 2013, paying $3 million for the extension.

Naming rights contracts for sports arenas sometimes are altered due to mergers and acquisitions. For example, the arena in downtown Buffalo opened as Marine Midland Arena, which held a 30-year naming-rights contract. But through various bank acquisitions, the name changed to HSBC Arena, then First Niagara Center and finally to the current name, KeyBank Arena.

Erie County launched one of the country’s first naming-rights deals when Rich Products put its name on the Buffalo Bills stadium for the first 25 years. When the contract expired, the stadium was named after the team owner, and it remained Ralph Wilson Stadium until New Era Cap Co. bought the rights in 2016. But just four years later, financially troubled New Era sought an end to the deal and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York bought the naming rights in 2021.

The arena in Philadelphia has had four naming-rights sponsors since it opened in 1996 but this is the first year that the stadium on the campus of Syracuse University is no longer the Carrier Dome. After 40 years, it is now the JMA Wireless Dome.

[email protected]/(585) 653-4020