The owner of the Main Street Armory and the city of Rochester have both issued statements after the renewal of the entertainment license for the venue was denied last week.

The site of the deadly stampede at a concert on March 5 will not be allowed to host public entertainment events until an investigation into the incident concludes, according to Rochester Police Chief David Smith.

Smith said members of the Rochester Police Department and the city’s corporation counsel attempted to meet with the owner of the Main Street Armory, Scott Donaldson, on Wednesday to discuss the pending renewal of the entertainment license for the venue. Licenses need to be renewed annually.

Smith said police were going to present the owner with the option of either stopping future events at the Armory until the investigation ends, or having the renewal of the license denied. Smith said the owner declined to attend the meeting, and the police chief signed an order to deny the renewal application.

“This denial means that the Main Street Armory can no longer host any public entertainment pending a complete and thorough review of this matter,” Smith said.

The Main Street Armory and its owner released a statement on Saturday, sending condolences to the victims and remaining confident that it will once again host events once the investigation concludes:

"The Main Street Armory, Scott Donaldson, and his team are devastated by the events that occurred on March 5, 2023. Our deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and loved ones of Rhondesia Belton, Brandy Miller and Aisha Stephens.

"Over the years, the Armory has successfully hosted hundreds of events. The Armory is confident that when the investigation concludes it will be determined that the Armory complied with all applicable codes, regulations, and laws, as it has in the past. The City took unilateral action in denying the Armory’s renewal for an entertainment license and inaccurately stated that Scott Donaldson simply 'failed' to appear at a meeting requested by the City to be held on March 8, 2023. 

"Mr. Donaldson’s attorney contacted the City on March 7, 2023, and requested that the meeting be adjourned until later in the week, or early the following week as he was engaged in another legal matter. The City summarily dismissed this reasonable request and decided to deny the renewal of the entertainment license, a license that the Armory possessed for years. Mr. Donaldson, on behalf of the Armory, cooperated fully with the City on the date of the incident, and continues to do so by consenting to the City’s request to inspect the premises which is scheduled to occur on a date chosen by the City.

"The thought of hosting another concert at the Armory while the families, friends and loved ones of these women grieve remains the furthest thing from Mr. Donaldson’s mind. Again, the Armory and its team’s thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and all members of the community impacted by Sunday’s events."

The city responded to Donaldson with the following statement on Monday:

"The City of Rochester requested to hold a meeting with Mr. Donaldson on Monday, which he requested be rescheduled to Wednesday, and the City accommodated that request. On Tuesday, the City received a call from Mr. Donaldson’s attorney, asking to reschedule again to accommodate the attorney’s schedule.

"The City of Rochester has a responsibility to those who lost their lives or were injured to move forward expeditiously. Given the seriousness and urgency of the matter, the City felt it could not postpone the Wednesday meeting date and time that Mr. Donaldson had previously asked for and agreed to, and is otherwise unable to accommodate additional delays."

Chief Smith said the RPD’s investigation into the crowd rush continues, but that the stoppage of events at the Armory is “one step that we can immediately take to ensure that the events of Sunday night are not repeated.”

Smith said a public notice of the denial has been posted at the location and added that Donaldson has provided the department with everything they had asked of him.

Police announced earlier this week that Brandy Miller, 35, of Rochester, and Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo, died of injuries they sustained as they were trampled by panicked fans rushing toward the exits at the concert featuring Memphis-based rappers GloRilla and Finesse2tymes. A third woman, Aisha Stephens, 35, of Syracuse, died on Wednesday, Rochester police announced on Thursday.

Police said seven additional people were treated at area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.

A concert that had been scheduled for Saturday, March 11 was canceled.

“These are very unique and serious circumstances,” Smith said. “And in the interest of public safety without exacting knowing what caused this we felt it prudent that we not allow events to continue and risk a repeat of what happened Sunday.”

Authorities ask that anyone with information, pictures or videos of what unfolded is asked to call 911 or send them to psi@cityofrochester.gov so they can be reviewed as part of the investigation.

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