The City of Rochester has picked a new operator for the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

If approved by Rochester City Council this October, Iowa-based VenuWorks will take over at the end of the upcoming American Hockey League season.

The first contract would go for five years if approved.

Venuworks would put more than $1.2 million worth of improvements into the arena and manage the court street parking lot as well.

City officials say VenuWorks operates more than a dozen similar-sized arenas across the Midwest.

“This is an important decision for our city,” Mayor Malik Evans said in a statement. “We have big plans for the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial as part of our ROC the Riverway initiative, with more than $7 million in upgrades planned that will keep its prominence as the primary sports and entertainment destination of the Finger Lakes. We are excited to welcome VenuWorks to Rochester.”

The city put out a call for companies and entrepreneurs to come forward with their plans to operate the arena in April.

Although Blue Cross Arena has been owned by the city, it's been run by Rochester Arena, LLC, an affiliate of Pegula Sports & Entertainment, since 2019. In March, Rochester Arena provided notice it intended to opt out of its license agreement with the city as of April 30, 2025.