As the Red Wings open the 2026 season and the newly renamed ESL Ballpark, there is optimism — even an expectation – that this could be the year.
"You know, our local delegation, I feel, is very supportive. The governor's office is quite supportive,” said Naomi Silver, the Red Wings president, CEO and COO. “So I feel good about those things.”
The things, in this context, are not Tuesday’s home opener and dreams of a championship season, but $65.7 million in long-envisioned stadium projects. Things like a permanent, year-round events space, renovating the old firehouse on site for a museum or restaurant, and a wrap-around concourse that would allow fans to watch games from the outfield.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has pledged $225 million toward what’s dubbed the Rochester Monroe Transformation Initiative.
That initiative is a 15-item project wish list, all within the city of Rochester, ranging from a concession and restrooms facility at the Roc City Skate Park to recreation trail connections to the Inner Loop North project. The list includes a proposal to build housing, a concert venue and more on the parking lots around the stadium. And it raises the prospect of new investments in the soccer stadium to bring professional soccer back to the city.
Policy disagreements are expected to delay passage of the final state budget. But the initiative is not one of them.
“And you know, we have a mayor and a county executive who made the stadium funding their number one priority – first time ever,” Silver said. "They get it. They know how important an anchor this is for downtown.”
The county-owned stadium opened in July 1996, and recently saw $12 million in MLB-required investments, and another $11 million in facility improvements. The state covered half those expenses and is being called upon now to cover $59 million of this next wave.
“Adding certain amenities that newer facilities have,” Silver said in explaining some of the higher-profile investments. “You know, many fans have gone to other facilities, and they see that wraparound concourse and being able to sit on a blanket over the outfield wall with their family, being able to walk around the stadium completely. If you want to keep the stadium alive and vibrant and exciting, these things are important.”
What’s being sought now also includes a new press box, renovated suites and bathrooms and full replacement of the stadium seats. The suites have never been updated, Silver said, and the seats are original to when the stadium opened.
If the state money gets awarded, there would be an application and approval process, including local signoff before anything happens. No stadium work is likely be done until after this season, officials said.
'Possibilities are endless'
The original state-funding pitch Rochester and Monroe County jointly put forward to Hochul totaled $500 million.
That included $59 million for the stadium, with local funding making up the difference. Community leaders also sought:
- $35 million for the former Vacuum Oil site and a project dubbed “restore the shore” to both enhance the riverfront and facilitate private development.
- $59 million for an overhaul of the county’s public safety and public service emergency communications.
- $23 million for the Inner Loop North redevelopment
- Unspecified funding for the soccer stadium complex, for renovations “to bring new professional soccer team back to facility.”
Asked about that potential, Rochester Deputy Mayor Michael Burns would not elaborate. But he pointed to Buffalo, which is looking to build a new stadium and launch a USL Championship division team in 2027: “Our neighbors in Buffalo are looking at how best to address having a soccer facility. We’re certainly fortunate to have it here, and it’s important to note that it’s included on this (project) list as something that we could consider as a use of a portion of these dollars.”
The list also includes High Falls State Park, for which Hochul has earmarked a separate $75 million, and the “Stadium District at High Falls." That development concept would carve up and build on the expanse of parking lots surrounding ESL Ballpark and north of the Eastman Kodak complex, adding new streets and parking garages.
Notably, there is no project cost or funding request assigned to the plan. Christa Construction has been lobbying state and local leaders on the idea, records show. The developer has its offices in the High Falls District, but declined an interview saying it was too early to discuss.
Burns cast it as more of a long-range plan.
“The possibilities are endless,” he said. “And I think, over time, as this state park comes to fruition — and it's multiple phases, you know — I think that'll really help dictate how that catalyzes what springs up.”
Silver is cautious, saying “whatever happens, we want it to succeed. We don't need a white elephant.”
Top of mind for many is that the city tried this once, attempting to develop the High Falls District into a dining and entertainment destination. And it failed. Instead, the buildings filled with apartments and offices, including Christa’s, while retail has continued to struggle.
“I want to see that the market studies have been done to ensure that this is what we need, and what can be supported. That's very important to me,” Siver said of this latest development push.
“Change is good,” she continued. “I just, you know, I can't let anything negatively affect the ballpark or our fans. So assurances are important to me."
Left out of the potential project list for the Transformation Initiative, but included in a larger state funding request, is $4 million for the Highland Park Children's Pavilion, $12 million for Ontario Beach Park patron and security upgrades, which would include a perimeter fence, cameras and gated parking, and $40 million for a new 29,000-square-foot animal shelter — replacing the 10,200-square-foot Verona Street shelter.
'On solid ground'
The Red Wings opened the season on Friday in Jacksonville. The home opener is set for 4:05 pm. Tuesday against the visiting Scranton-Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the start of a six-day homestand.
Workers were rushing last week to complete new locker rooms for an expanded coaching staff, the last of the recent construction projects. And the new ESL Ballpark signage went up a few days prior.
The new naming rights contract with longtime Red Wings supporter ESL Federal Credit Union was signed in February. Among the various details is a default clause that would allow the contract to be voided if Rochester Community Baseball loses its AAA franchise.
The Red Wings are the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals, but there has been speculation that affiliation could one day flip to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants that opened a new ballpark last week.
In her conversations with the Nationals, Silver said, leadership has not sought further stadium investments like what’s in the offing today.
“But, you know, when we see a new facility going in, a Double-A facility going in, in a city that's near Washington, I want to make sure that we don't lose a Triple-A team over it,” she said. "And I think we are on solid ground — as long as we're keeping up.”
In that respect, many of these projects are overdue. The Red Wings annually spend about $250,000 on stadium maintenance and other investments. These bigger-ticket items, though, require added funding assistance, and Burns said: "now is really that time where we’ve chosen to elevate it.”
"We believe that we have the best ballpark in Triple-A baseball, and we've enjoyed that facility for the 30 years,” the deputy mayor said. "We want to make sure that continues to the standard that we've enjoyed ... that maintains the standards of MLB, that maintains and builds upon, you know, what fans expect.
“And then, certainly,” he continued, “to make sure that our facility is competitive with all of the others out there within Minor League Baseball.”
