Flower City Union

The Flower City Union is an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States, that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. Its home stadium is Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium.

History

In 2017, the long-time professional soccer team in Rochester, the USL's Rochester Rhinos, announced that they were going on hiatus as of the 2018 season. The departure of the Rhinos left Rochester without a professional soccer team for the first time since 1995 and left the team's stadium, Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium, without a tenant in 2019. In 2020, an ownership group headed by David Weaver, the CEO and former founder of Rochester-based Aphex BioCleanse Systems Inc. and a former Kodak optical engineer, submitted an application for a NISA team in Rochester. Mark Washo, a former Chief Business Officer with the Rhinos, was appointed as Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer and the group later announced a partnership with St. John Fisher College’s Sport Management Department. In December 2020, NISA approved the group's expansion application, and soon after the team was unveiled as Flower City Union, a nod to Rochester's nickname as the Flower City. On April 14, 2021, the team logo and colors were introduced, the primary color being lilac purple in honor of Rochester's signature flower.

On 24 June 2021, it was announced that Flower City Union would incorporate the Rochester Lancers of the National Premier Soccer League and the Rochester Lady Lancers of United Women's Soccer within its organization upon completion of their summer 2021 seasons. The NPSL team would act as a developmental squad between Flower City Union’s first team and the organization's Homegrown Partner Program.