San Antonio Dragons
The San Antonio Dragons originally moved to Texas from Illinois in 1996 where they had been the original Peoria Rivermen. Playing in the IHL, they moved into Freeman Coliseum for the 1996-97 season, which was a bit odd since the arena was also home to the San Antonio Iguanas of the CHL. This has to be one of the rare times (maybe the only time?) that a team moved to a new location and actually moved in with another team.Â
In their first season, the Dragons went 45-30-0 and made the playoffs. In the process, the Iguanas went out of business although the Dragons weren't overly dominant in the market as they averaged about 5,000 fans to the Iguanas' 3,000. The Dragons would have the arena to themselves for 1997-98 but struggled, going 25-49. They would be sold at the end of the season, rebranded into the Iguanas, and moved into the CHL for the 1998-99 campaign. The second coming of the Iguanas would last until 2002 when the franchise folded for good.Â
