The Asheville Aces were a Southern Professional Hockey League ( SPHL) team in Asheville, North Carolina. The team, which suffered limited success and low attendance, lasted only one year before disbanding.

Franchise History

The Asheville Aces were established in the summer preceding the 2004–05 season. The city of Asheville was perceived as a strong candidate for a minor league team in spite of the limited success and subsequent demise of the

Asheville Smoke The Asheville Smoke were a minor professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League. Home games were played in the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. Team history The team played in Asheville, North Carolina, from 1998 ...

, which lasted from 1998 to 2002. Florida real estate investor David Waronker, representing the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) began lobbying the city for rights to form a team. Meanwhile, John Cherney, the founder and first president of the

South East Hockey League South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, also attempted to establish an SEHL team in the city. Concerned with the financial viability of a team in the municipally-owned

Asheville Civic Center The Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville, previously known as the U.S. Cellular Center and originally as the Asheville Civic Center Complex, is a multipurpose entertainment center, located in Asheville, North Carolina. Opened in 1974, the compl ...

, officials from the city of Asheville insisted that if a team was to play in the facility, it be part of a league that comprised at least six other teams. The SEHL at that time had only four teams. The SPHL had three teams in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Orlando, Florida, and Macon, Georgia, and promised more expansion teams were waiting to be announced until the sixth team came aboard. The city agreed and by the beginning of the 2004–05 season, the Asheville Aces were officially one of nine teams in the SPHL. Orlando's lease was revoked before the start of the season, but this still left the SPHL with eight teams. The Aces finished their only season with a record of 19–37–0, and missed the playoffs. The team then folded prior to the next season after failing to agree to a lease with the Asheville Civic Center.

References

*http://www.mountainx.com/news/2005/0223hockey.php Defunct Southern Professional Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in North Carolina Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 2004 Sports clubs disestablished in 2005 Sports in Asheville, North Carolina 2004 establishments in North Carolina 2005 disestablishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-sport-team-stub