The city of Rochester is calling for companies and entrepreneurs to come forward with their plans for the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

Mayor Malik Evans issued a request for proposals Tuesday for the management and operation of the home of the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans.

Although Blue Cross Arena is owned by the city, for more than four years, it's been run by Rochester Arena, LLC, an affiliate of Pegula Sports & Entertainment. Evans says last Thursday, Rochester Arena provided notice it intended to opt-out of their license agreement with the city as of April 30, 2025.

This comes as Blue Cross Arena is set to undergo a $7 million upgrade as part of the ROC the Riverway initiative.

The good news is, the Amerks and the Knighthawks aren't going anywhere. But the mayor says he is now seeking qualified facility managers who run the arena as well as its sales and marketing services.

“The Blue Cross Arena is one of the jewels that keeps our city vibrant,” Evans said in a statement. “We continue to build tremendous momentum in redefining our center city as a place where people desire to live, work, and play, and the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial is central to that goal.”

Eligible bidders are required to have successfully managed at least one all-purpose, 10,000 person-capacity arena in the last three years.

The deadline for submissions is May 17 in hopes of transitioning the operation and management duties this October.