ESL becomes new naming-rights sponsor of Rochester’s ballpark

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ESL Federal Credit Union has become the new naming rights sponsor of Rochester’s downtown stadium — at a cost of $550,000 per year.

Officials from the Rochester Red Wings, Monroe County and the Rochester-based financial institution unveiled the new name, ESL Ballpark, at a news conference Tuesday morning.

“We are honored and very proud to associate our name with a ballpark and an organization that already mean so much to so many people in our community,” ESL president and CEO Faheem Masood said.

“For more than 30 years ESL has been a supporter, partner and believer in the excitement that happens at this ballpark. This reflects our belief in the power of sport, recreation and community spaces to create connections and lasting memories.”

ESL is just the third company to put its name on the county-owned stadium. The ballpark was known as Frontier Field — with Frontier Communications as the naming-rights owner — from the time it opened in 1996 until 2022.

With Frontier emerging from bankruptcy in 2023, the company gave up naming rights and Henrietta-based Innovative Solutions took over the final three years of Frontier’s deal ($298,000 for the first season, with 5 percent bumps the next two years).

ESL, however, intends to ensure there will be no name change for the foreseeable future. The organization agreed to a 10-year deal, with four five-year options that could extend the sponsorship for a total of 30 years.

“ESL is one of Rochester’s most respected institutions, grounded in a legacy of service, integrity and commitment to our community,” Red Wings president and CEO Naomi Silver said. “An organization with that history and that heart, to place its name on our ballpark, is deeply meaningful to us.”

The naming rights fees will be split between Monroe County and Rochester Community Baseball, which owns the Red Wings franchise. The county will receive 82 percent each year ($451,000 for Year 1) and 18 percent goes to the ballclub.

In the naming rights deal brokered by the Red Wings, the rights fee will increase 2 percent each year and the 82/18 split with the county will extend for the length of the contract, county documents show.

Silver said considerable thought went into the new name, especially since “Field” has been attached to the stadium for 30 years.

“Ballpark felt the warmest to us,” she said. “This is a feeling you get when you hear the name of a ballpark. ESL Ballpark evokes the sentiment that you want.”

County Executive Adam Bello said it is fitting that two community mainstays are paired together.

“Why does this matter what we name our ballpark? Because it speaks to who we are as a community,” Bello said. “The Rochester Red Wings are synonymous with Rochester and what we call their home should also be synonymous with Rochester.

“These are two cornerstones of our community coming together.”

Rochester’s downtown arena has been known as Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial since renovation finished in 1998. The health insurance company has paid $195,000 a year to the city, extending terms of the original 15-year deal in 2013 for another 15 years.

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