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Washo Leading Charge for Rejuvenated Rhinos

By SCOTT KESSLER – USLSoccer.com Contributor, 05/23/16, 5:01PM EDT

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Former MLS executive and Rochester native excited by ‘unique opportunity’


Photo courtesy Rochester Rhinos

On the field in 2015, the Rochester Rhinos accomplished everything. The Rhinos finished first in the league in the regular season, then they won the USL Championship, the club’s first since 2001. Building on that is tough but in the very capable hands of Head Coach Bob Lilley.

After the on-the-field success the club found in 2015, the Rhinos are now looking emulate it off the field under the new leadership of strong local owners David and Wendy Dworkin, who purchased the club prior to the new campaign.

The first order of business for the Dworkin family was the appointment of Mark Washo to serve as the team’s first Chief Business Officer. While a new field was installed and improvements were made to the video board, Washo has focused on improving the fan experience at the team’s games.

Washo, who not only brings extensive experience from Major League Soccer but also grew up in the region, has gone to great lengths to bring local and regional flavors to the food, beverage and entertainment aspects of the game day experience at Rhinos Stadium in order to resonate with Rochester residents.

“It’s a unique opportunity,” Washo said. “There used to be a historically big fan following here when they called it Soccertown USA. With a beautiful, soccer-specific stadium in the city, there’s a chance for me to draw from all of my experience to help build upon all of that in the town I grew up in. The new owners have been incredible with their vision for the team and the greater Rochester community.

“This could potentially be a catalyst not only for the team, but also the town.”

Having someone not only with Washo’s experience in the sports industry, but also with local ties to Rochester itself was important to David Dworkin.

“It was extremely important to us to make sure the Rhinos and the neighborhood interact on multiple levels,” Dworkin said. “Finding someone like Mark who was born and raised in the Rochester area made it easier for us, since he understands the Rochester area. We are looking to become more involved throughout the entire Rochester community, expanding from our own backyard to other areas of the city.”


Photo courtesy Rochester Rhinos

With the backing of the Dworkins, Washo has focused on improving the fan experience at the team’s games this season. The club has focused on local and regional flavors, both for refreshments and entertainment, to resonate with Rochester residents.

“We’re doing a lot to have live music and bands for the pregame, every game,” Washo said. “We’ve been bringing in a DJ so that there’s an atmosphere everywhere. We’ve had local performers, and we’re also in the process of trying to attract some festivals from the local ethnic communities. I think all of those things are adding to the fan experience.”

When it comes to food, it’s Rochester-oriented.

“What we’ve done so far is three things, the first of which is we brought back two of the fan favorites for our stadium vendors,” Washo said. “Second is that we’ve been inviting a minimum of two or three food trucks to games. We’ve been rotating food trucks from within the Rochester market.

“We’ve also taken one of the food stands, and partnered with a local establishment where we’re offering different food based upon the opponent for that game. For example, when we play Charleston there will be a Carolina BBQ-themed sandwich.”

The team has even gone so far as to provide the fan base with the ability to increase their influence on the stadium by hosting a concession stand naming contest.

The Rhinos also devoted a sizeable portion of their budget to upgrading the stadium’s turf field, as well as updating the video board. Both decisions should help Rochester continue to modernize game days and also boost revenue opportunities for the team itself as it looks to restore the Rhinos to their glory days, when the club not only won three USL championships, but also the 1999 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

“[The new field] gives us full year-round capability for play for both the first team and our youth programs,” said Washo. “It allows us to have lacrosse, Friday-night-lights football games and other flexibility for events that won’t affect the quality of the turf, unlike grass. It’s FIFA-rated turf, the latest FieldTurf, which allows us to attract the U.S. National Team squads.

“The video board was pre-existing, but it was damaged. It was missing pixels. To keep it in that state would have been a continued nuisance to the fan experience. You can remove it, but upgrading it was the decision we made for the fans’ benefit. It is helping us, additionally, be able to run commercials and PSAs for our advertising and community partners. We’re even talking with movie marketing companies about running two-minute film trailers for our fans.”

With a number of the upgrades to the stadium, such as the installation of the new turf field and video board, having been completed, the Dworkins are pleased with the progress the club has made to make Rhinos Stadium a welcoming place for home fans. That said, they might be even more excited about what is to come, with new features expected to be rolled out over the summer as the club looks to rebuild its support across the local community.

“While we have been very pleased so far, we are even more excited for the things to come as the season progresses,” Dworkin said. “We are also excited to see the crowds continue to build as the local weather improves, kids get out of school for the summer, and youth soccer gets in full swing here in Rochester.”

With the team currently on a 22-game undefeated streak in the USL at Rhinos Stadium as it welcomes Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday night, Washo’s vision for an atmosphere that will match the club’s performance on the field is moving steadily toward fruition.