Rochester Rhinos get new name, logo

Rochester, New York — NY FC is the new name of Rochester’s soccer team.

Wednesday morning the club announced the name change to Rochester New York FC or RNY FC. Officials say it was prompted in part by co-owner Jamie Vardy, the British professional soccer player.

“It’s been something we’ve been looking forward to,” said Vardy. “It took nearly two years to get to this stage with the branding. We’ve come up with something that we thought was right in moving forward in wanting to come back bigger and better than before.”

“Belief Impossible” – is their new slogan – and a new crest, which pays homage to High Falls.

The club’s primary color will remain green.

“Some people are not going to like it, some are saying they love it,” said Vardy. “That’s one of the issues that you get; it’s hard to really please everyone. But what we will say is just trust in us. We’ve gotten to this stage over two years of talks going on, and the plan we’ve got set up and what we want to do will definitely make us achieve that in getting back to really successful.”

Co-owner Wendy Dworkin asked local fans to remember the “Rhino” is not extinct, and that this is just the start of a new chapter.

“Have some faith,” she said. “The rebrand is just one part of an overall plan to bring the team back to greatness. Stick with us. If you’re not a fan of the rebrand, just stay with us for a bit and see all of the other wonderful things that we’ll be rolling out in the coming months and years.”