Toronto Roadrunners

Toronto Roadrunners
City	Toronto, Ontario
League	American Hockey League
Operated	2003–2004
Home arena	Ricoh Coliseum
Colours	Blue, yellow, and grey
Affiliates	Edmonton Oilers
Franchise history
1984–1988	Nova Scotia Oilers
1988–1996	Cape Breton Oilers
1996–2003	Hamilton Bulldogs
2003–2004	Toronto Roadrunners
2004–2005	Edmonton Road Runners
2010–2015	Oklahoma City Barons
2015–present	Bakersfield Condors

The Toronto Roadrunners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita, Brad Winchester, Jamie Wright and Steve Valiquette who helped them advance to the AHL playoffs where they lost the first round to the Cleveland Barons.

In the early 2000s, there were efforts to refurbish the Ricoh Coliseum for a minor professional team. Plans to move the dormant Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League to Toronto for the 2002–03 season fell apart when the league dissolved and six teams, but not the Roadrunners, were absorbed by the American Hockey League (AHL) in the summer of 2001. The same group then attempted to purchase the Louisville Panthers AHL franchise, which had suspended operations for the 2001–02 season, and relocate it to the Coliseum, but the AHL voted against the transaction in December 2001. The Toronto Maple Leafs pressured the Hamilton Bulldogs, who held territorial rights to Toronto since it fell within their 50-mile home territory, to veto the transaction. The Leafs reportedly did not want the Coliseum to be upgraded as it would compete with their newly opened Air Canada Centre. Next, the group began pursuing the Bulldogs, which were owned by their NHL affiliate the Edmonton Oilers. The Bulldogs did not require league approval to move to Toronto since the Coliseum was within their territory.

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