Main Street Armory In Rochester Loses License To Operate

On the heels of a weekend concert that ended with the death of 3 people and several others hurt, it looks like one of the top locations in Rochester for people to see shows and concerts is going to have to close its doors for a while as investigators continue to search for answers about what happened.

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On Sunday, March 5, 2023, as a concert that was headlined by Glorilla was wrapping up inside the massive concert hall, a crowd surge towards the exit ended very badly for several people from Western New York.

In a press conference late in the day on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Rochester Police Chief David Smith announced that the Main Street Armory would not have its entertainment venue license renewed by the City of Rochester. During that same press conference, Chief Smith signed an order denying the license renewal for the venue and ordered the venue closed

What this means is that the Main Street Armory can no longer host any public entertainment pending a complete and thorough review of this matter...
-David Smith, Chief of Police, City of Rochester, New York

It was noted during the press conference that the owner of the venue was invited to a meeting with City Officials where officials were going to give them two choices: either voluntarily cease operations at the venue or have their license renewal application immediately denied. According to a lawyer for the owners, they declined to attend that meeting.

Three deaths have been attributed to the events at the end of the concert.

Until that point, there were very few issues that occurred during the show and by all accounts, everything was seemingly fine.

What Happened At The End Of The Concert?

Some of the initial reports were there was gunfire at the end of the show and that is what caused people to rush toward the exits.

I was at the concert and I can say firsthand I heard no gunfire. In fact, the end of the show itself seemed to be normal and unremarkable.

I also spoke to several people as events in Rochester began to calm down and everyone I spoke to said the same thing, they didn't know what caused the crowd surge.

What's Next For The Armory?

The next steps are unclear. Officials from the City of Rochester have not released a timeline of their investigation or when they would give updated information. Investigations are underway by the City of Rochester, the New York State Liquor Authority, and other agencies.

The current order denying their license prohibits the Main Street Armory from hosting any sort of public entertainment or athletic events.