The Rochester Brigade was a professional

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ar ...

team based in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

. The team was a member of

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

, the minor league of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

, and played their home games at the

Blue Cross Arena Blue Cross Arena, also known as the War Memorial, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 10,662. The arena opened on October 18, 1955, as the Rochester Community War Memor ...

. The Brigade began play in 2001 and ceased operations following the 2003 season. The city of Rochester would be without an arena football team until 2006, with the arrival of the GLIFL's

Rochester Raiders The Rochester Raiders were a professional indoor football team based in the Rochester, New York area. They played their home games at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex in Rochester. The Raiders were previously a member of the Continental Indoor Foot ...

History

The Rochester Brigade was one of 13

expansion teams established prior to the 2001 season. The team was owned by Mark Hamister, who also owned the

Buffalo Destroyers Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...

of the

, and played their home games at the

in downtown

. Rochester finished its inaugural season with a 4–12 record. In 2002, the team was slightly more successful as they posted a 7–9 mark and made the playoffs despite having a losing record. The Brigade lost in the first round to the

Albany Conquest The Albany Firebirds were a professional arena football team of the AF2 based in Albany, New York. Albany was granted an expansion team in 2002 and began play as the Albany Conquest. The Firebirds played their home games at the Times Union Cente ...

by a score of 31–26. The team regressed in 2003 and finished the season 3–13. After the season, team owner Hamister unsuccessfully bid to purchase the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...

, leading him to move the Destroyers to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. With the Destroyers no longer in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

, Hamister saw no need to continue the Brigade team and folded it.

Season-by-season

, - , 2001 , , 4 , , 12 , , 0 , , 7th AC Eastern , , -- , - , 2002 , , 7 , , 9 , , 0 , , 2nd AC Northeastern , , Lost Week 1 ( Albany 31, Rochester 26) , - , 2003 , , 3 , , 13 , , 0 , , 4th AC Northeastern , , -- , - !Totals , , 14 , , 35 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

References

External links

Rochester Brigade on ArenaFan.com

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

Defunct af2 teams Defunct American football teams in New York (state) American football teams established in 2000 American football teams disestablished in 2003 {{NewYork-sport-team-stub