St. Louis Vipers | |
---|---|
City | St. Louis, Missouri |
Founded | 1993 |
Home arena |
St. Louis Arena (1993 - 1994) Kiel Center (1995 - 1997; 1999) |
Colors |
Red, Black, Gold, White |
Murphy Cups | 1999Won final year of league. |
Conference Championships | 1999 |
Division Championships | 1995 |
Franchise history | |
St. Louis Vipers (1993–1997;1999) |
Red, Black, Gold, White
The St. Louis Vipers (1993–1997;1999) were a team of professional roller hockey players based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was a part of the now-defunct Roller Hockey International League. They played their home games in the former St. Louis Arena but then moved to the Kiel Center (now called the Scottrade Center) in 1995. They were the champions of the Murphy Cup Championship in 1999, the final year of the RHI's existence.
The ownership of the club was led by former NHL star Bernie Federko, who also served as the head coach.
Over their six year existence, the St. Louis Vipers had a total home attendance of 332,412 in 71 home games, an average of 4,682 per game.
The largest home crowd in Vipers history was the final regular season home game in 1997 with an announced attendance of over 14,000 against the New Jersey Rockin' Rollers. The St. Louis Blues gave their season ticket holders vouchers for free tickets to the St. Louis Vipers regular season games, this game was the final game of the season and there was an estimated 7,000 walk up ticket purchases at the gate. Kiel Center only sold Vipers tickets in the lower bowl, this caused Kiel Center staff to open the upper bowl for this one time.
The St. Louis Vipers hosted the 1995 RHI All-Star Game on July 15, 1995 in front of 9,166 at Kiel Center in St. Louis. The East beat the West with a score of 14-12. Ed Anderson of the East was the games MVP.
The last official sporting event played at the St. Louis Arena was on August 16, 1994 versus the Tampa Bay Tritons in front of 11,146, the second largest Vipers home crowd.