The Columbus Stars were a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Bar ...

professional

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

team that was a brief member of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor league, minor professional ice hockey league, with teams ...

(UHL). The team folded before the midway point of 2003–04 season, in which the Stars had 21 home games drawing an average of only 973 people per game, 2,000 less than the UHL average. They played their home games at the

Ohio Expo Center Coliseum The Taft Coliseum is a 5,003-permanent seat multi-purpose arena located at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio. History It opened in 1918 and is nicknamed "The Barn". The facility hosted the 1929 NCAA Wrestling Champion ...

which had a capacity of 5,676. Despite leading the Eastern Conference of the UHL at the time of its demise, the team's final game had an attendance of only 732. The team folded on January 9, 2004. The team was owned by Joe Milano Jr, a local Columbus restaurateur. The stars gained attention after '' Rescue Me'' actor

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and thro ...

was offered a one-game contract to play with the team. He would have been paid the standard one-game salary for a UHL player ($300) and an undisclosed percentage of the ticket sales from the game would have been donated to his charity,

Leary Firefighters Foundation The Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF) provides funding and equipment to fire departments throughout the United States. On December 3, 1999, six firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse f ...

Notable players

Evan Cheverie Evan Cheverie (born May 6, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey forward. Playing career Cheverie was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Undrafted, Cheverie spent four seasons at Miami University before turning professi ...

Craig Hillier Craig Hillier (born February 28, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Career Born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, C ...

Scott Levins Scott M. Levins (born January 30, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Levins was born in Spokane, Washington. Playing career After a successful junior career with the WHL's Tri-City Americans, Levins was selected by the ...

References

2003 establishments in Ohio 2004 disestablishments in Ohio Defunct ice hockey teams in Ohio Defunct United Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2003 Sports clubs disestablished in 2004 Sports teams in Columbus, Ohio {{Ohio-sport-team-stub