The Phoenix Roadrunners were a minor league professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in the International Hockey League. The team was housed at

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association from 1968 to 1992, as well as indoor s ...

. The team played in the IHL from 1989 to 1997. The IHL Roadrunners were named for a

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

team of the same name. The IHL Roadrunners used a similar skating cartoon bird logo as the WHA team with different colors, without the outline of the state of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. In 1996, the original Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, becoming the Coyotes. After one year competing with the Coyotes for fans, the Roadrunners folded at the end of the 1996-97 season. Coincidentally, the Coyote's AHL affiliate, the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play for the 2016–17 season. Based in Tucson, Arizona, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes, the team plays i ...

, share the name and similar logo to the displaced IHL team.

References

International Hockey League (1945–2001) teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Sports in Phoenix, Arizona Ice hockey clubs established in 1989 Sports clubs disestablished in 1997 Ice hockey teams in Arizona 1989 establishments in Arizona 1997 disestablishments in Arizona {{PhoenixAZ-stub

See also

References