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International League sets deadline for lease agreement on Frontier Field

The ongoing squabble over what will happen with the lease that the Rochester Red Wings have with Monroe County to continue playing baseball in Frontier Field took on new urgency on Thursday.

The International League sent a memo to Rochester Community Baseball CEO Naomi Silver and Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo advising that in order for the Red Wings to play their home opener in Rochester on April 6th, the league needs certain documents by March 1st, or the league will go ahead with a plan to have the Wings play their home games in another city.

The International League is looking for either:

-a proposed lease for the 2018 season and beyond

-a document signed by the parties extending the recently expired lease for the stadium for at least one year from its expiration.

-a document signed by the county guaranteeing that Frontier Field will be made available to the Red Wings until a new lease is in place.

International League President Randy Mobley says that “it is disappointing to all involved that the process of arriving at a new lease for Frontier Field has taken the path that it has. With 130 seasons of history in this league, there is no city where opening day means more than it does in Rochester.”  Mobley says he remains optimistic the two parties will get the deal done.

Monroe County spokesman Jesse Sleezer issued this statement:

"We are pleased the International League has acknowledged that it is vital for the two parties to have a new long-term lease in place before the start of the baseball season. County Executive Dinolfo is meeting directly with team officials today to advance the negotiations towards a positive resolution."
 

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.