Over the course of two weekends in late summer for the past 30 years, thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses have poured into downtown Rochester, filling its hotels.
The annual conventions at Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial drew 4,500 attendees each weekend from 90 congregations across Western New York.
Not this year.
Unable to reach an agreement with new arena operators Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the religious organization moved the conference to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. The reason talks broke down is unclear, though a spokesman for PSE pointed to expense-related matters.
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