OT: Pete Guelli announces PSE will no longer operate the NLL Rochester Knighthawks

[Brawndo]

 

[thewookie1]

They have been trying to sell the team for awhile now; owning 2 teams in the same league is a tad odd to say the least.

[tom webster]

I’m not surprised by decision but giving a one week notice seems like a bit of a pressure move.

[Eleven]

I'm sitting with Josh Byrne's sister-in-law right now.  She's a little concerned about what this means for Josh's brother Taylor.

[Porous Five Hole]

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/lacrosse/2025/06/23/rochester-knighthawks-looking-for-new-owners-after-pegula-divest/84319445007/
 

More info here, but soft paywall. This coincides with the Pegula’s giving up control of the arena, so it makes sense for them. I can confirm the Pegula’s made their intentions known with the NLL a long time before today.

“I can confirm there are local entities that have interest in keeping the team in Rochester,” Guelli said. “That’s the goal…The league is basically taking over those conversations, with the goal of getting someone in place before next season starts. They’re pretty bullish that they can get somebody in here and take over.”

Personally, I think this franchise is cooked, unfortunately. They may play in ROC for one more year, but the love for this team left when the Hawks relocated the first time. It was never the same after that.

 

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

 

Interesting.  

TIL.  Honestly thought the Pegulas had sold that team about 1-1/2 years ago.  Didn't realize they still owned and ran them.  Guess they just put them up for sale 1-1/2 years ago.  Oops.

[PromoTheRobot]

32 minutes ago, Taro T said:

 

Interesting.  

TIL.  Honestly thought the Pegulas had sold that team about 1-1/2 years ago.  Didn't realize they still owned and ran them.  Guess they just put them up for sale 1-1/2 years ago.  Oops.

I can't believe they couldn't sell an NLL franchise. They are in demand. Was there a clause to keep them in Rochester? Maybe that's the rub. Blue Cross Arena is not exactly state of the art. A city the size of Rochester ought to have a 16-18K seat venue.

[pastajoe]

24 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I can't believe they couldn't sell an NLL franchise. They are in demand. Was there a clause to keep them in Rochester? Maybe that's the rub. Blue Cross Arena is not exactly state of the art. A city the size of Rochester ought to have a 16-18K seat venue.

The attendance of their biggest attraction, the Amerks, averages around 6,000. So there is no justification for that large of a venue.

[Timonthy 76]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I can't believe they couldn't sell an NLL franchise. They are in demand. Was there a clause to keep them in Rochester? Maybe that's the rub. Blue Cross Arena is not exactly state of the art. A city the size of Rochester ought to have a 16-18K seat venue.

NLL is a money loser, look for the owner of the Rock to sell in the next 4 months, he’s had enough of losing money. With Toronto, Philadelphia and others I can see NLL folding in 5 years 

[Taro T]

58 minutes ago, pastajoe said:

The attendance of their biggest attraction, the Amerks, averages around 6,000. So there is no justification for that large of a venue.

Thanks, Jabba.  Thank you for bringing in the Swamp Cats as the parent to the Amerks when they were what the Sabres are now.  Thank you for killing a very vibrant hockey market.

Too bad for you, you only essentially killed pro hockey in the area.  Youth hockey is thriving and one of the local rinks is even adding a new sheet this summer.

Go fork yourself, Donner the Hutt.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I can't believe they couldn't sell an NLL franchise. They are in demand. Was there a clause to keep them in Rochester? Maybe that's the rub. Blue Cross Arena is not exactly state of the art. A city the size of Rochester ought to have a 16-18K seat venue.

So much demand that when the Fort Worth NLL club stopped operations last year, no other city was interested in buying a team that was established and had made playoffs the last two seasons.  They just folded.

The Bandits are a unicorn that they have a good team in a big league city arena and little to no competition for fans during their season (since the Sabres suck hard ballz).

Rochester is a more typical city for the league and if they can't support an NLL club, why would another city want to jump on that?

Edited 7 hours ago by Doohickie

[PromoTheRobot]

6 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

So much demand that when the Fort Worth NLL club stopped operations last year, no other city was interested in buying a team that was established and had made playoffs the last two seasons.  They just folded.

I'm surprised. The Las Vegas team had an expansion fee of $10 million.

[Doohickie]

Just now, PromoTheRobot said:

I'm surprised. The Las Vegas team had an expansion fee of $10 million.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Thanks, Jabba.  Thank you for bringing in the Swamp Cats as the parent to the Amerks when they were what the Sabres are now.  Thank you for killing a very vibrant hockey market.

Too bad for you, you only essentially killed pro hockey in the area.  Youth hockey is thriving and one of the local rinks is even adding a new sheet this summer.

Go fork yourself, Donner the Hutt.

I miss those days. I know that sounds crazy, but your posts were fun and the Sabres have imploded right after he finally left. 

[That Aud Smell]

PSE was dissolved several years ago.

Who’s the “we” in Pete’s statement?

Weird.

[Big Guava]

8 hours ago, Eleven said:

I'm sitting with Josh Byrne's sister-in-law right now.  She's a little concerned about what this means for Josh's brother Taylor.

Is she hot?

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

Is she hot?

Wow, those eighteen months or so that I missed really brought in some quality posters.

[inkman]

18 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

Is she hot?

 

11 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Wow, those eighteen months or so that I missed really brought in some quality posters.

In order to get a verdict on the matter, the court will allow this indiscretion. 

[Mango]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

PSE was dissolved several years ago.

Who’s the “we” in Pete’s statement?

Weird.

PSE was disposed and Pegulas camp said "don't worry without out Kim, we just don't have the bandwidth to keep all this under one roof. We're not going anywhere"

Then Pegula renegotiated the BCA lease agreement in Rochester and his camp said "Don't worry, this is standard business procedure. It's just a new deal because PSE is gone. We're not going anywhere"

Later Pegula actually pulled out of the management portion of his BCA agreement and said "Don't worry. We just don't want to manage arenas anymore. But were totally staying put"

Now he sold the Nighthawks, which was mentioned numerous times in all the above as being safe from being for sale.

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

PSE was disposed and Pegulas camp said "don't worry without out Kim, we just don't have the bandwidth to keep all this under one roof. We're not going anywhere"

Then Pegula renegotiated the BCA lease agreement in Rochester and his camp said "Don't worry, this is standard business procedure. It's just a new deal because PSE is gone. We're not going anywhere"

Later Pegula actually pulled out of the management portion of his BCA agreement and said "Don't worry. We just don't want to manage arenas anymore. But were totally staying put"

Now he sold the Nighthawks, which was mentioned numerous times in all the above as being safe from being for sale.

They have always intended on selling the Nighthawks; it was part of the stipulations with the league when PSE wanted to keep a team in Rochester after the original team moved. They have been looking to sell or at minimum bring on a new majority owner for the past 3 years. 
 

As for BCA it’s a rather old arena that needs continuous maintenance and unlikely brings in much money if any. Without Kim, Terry doesn’t have the same interest in Kim’s PSE baby. Not to mention he’ll soon own a new Bills stadium and potentially have to purchase the Key Bank Center. 
 

There are plenty of things to target Pegula for but this isn’t anything special or mischievous