The Dayton Demolition was a minor league professional ice hockey team in the

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. D ...

based in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

and played their home games at

Hara Arena Hara Arena was a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Trotwood, Ohio suburb of Dayton. The facility began as a ballroom in 1956, added an arena in 1964 and grew to a six-building complex which closed in August 2016. At various times, it ...

. The team was known as the

Berkshire Battalion The Berkshire Battalion were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that played during the 2014–15 season. Based in North Adams, Massachusetts, the Battalion played at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the ...

before it relocated to Dayton in July 2015 to replace the defunct

Dayton Demonz The Dayton Demonz were a professional ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, in the Federal Hockey League. After the Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League ceased operations, the Demonz were created as an expansion team in the FHL. The team play ...

after failing to come to an arena agreement.

History

On June 26, 2015, Bill Dadds announced that he intended to relocate the Battalion from North Adams before the 2015–16 season after lease negotiations for the ice rink fell through. The city administration asked the team to only play a maximum of three Friday night games in next season and repay all current debts prior to any lease being signed by the city but Dadds decided that the demands were unreasonable. On July 15, he announced via his Facebook page that he was moving the team to

to replace the

. This was confirmed the next day when the

Port Huron Prowlers The Port Huron Prowlers are a minor professional ice hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Port Huron, Michigan, the Prowlers play their home games at the McMorran Arena. History Th ...

, an expansion team, announced that it had acquired the Demonz's protected players. On July 25, Dadds announced at a press conference held at a local

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Unit ...

that the new Dayton team would be called the Dayton Demolition. On December 23, the Dayton Demolition announced that it had postponed its December 26 game against Danbury due to "scheduling issues" with

. On December 28, the Demolition then announced that its new home arena would be

South Metro Sports South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, 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 Pro ...

in nearby

Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primar ...

. After one home game at South Metro in which attendees either sat on bleachers with poor sightlines of the ice or had to stand due to the lack of seating, the Demolition returned to Hara Arena for the rest of their 2016 home games. On January 17, the FHL removed Dadds as owner and on January 19, Joe Pace, Sr., the former coach of the

Danville Dashers The Danville Dashers were a semi-professional ice hockey team that played in Danville, Illinois, United States, at the David S. Palmer Arena. Originally, the Dashers played in the Continental Hockey League (1972–1986), Continental Hockey Leagu ...

, was announced as the head of the new ownership group for the Demolition. In March 2016, The website was moved to "Dayton Pro Hockey" and the FHL began listing the team as "Dayton Pro Hockey" taking further steps to move the team out of the Dadds era. Dayton would then finish the 2015–16 season in the last qualifying playoff position and faced the

Danbury Titans The Danbury Titans were a professional ice hockey team based in Danbury, Connecticut. Replacing the Danbury Whalers, the team was founded as an expansion team in the Federal Hockey League. They played their home games at the Danbury Ice Arena. H ...

in the semifinals. They were swept by the Titans in a best of three series, all played in Danbury despite Dayton being listed as the "home team" in game one. On July 13, 2016, the "Dayton Pro Hockey" team announced it would be going dormant for the 2016–17 season. Owner Joe Pace, Sr. claimed that Hara Arena was unable to sign leases to tenants and he did not believe he could put together a team without a proper lead up time and secured arena. He also stated he would look to keep the team in Dayton in 2017 even if Hara Arena is still not available. It was then announced on July 29 that Hara Arena would be closing in August 2016 due to financial difficulties in continued operations and the need for renovation; hence, the arena did not offer a lease to the former Demolition team.

Season records

:* – ''3 points for a Win, 2 points for an Overtime Win, and 1 point for an Overtime Loss''

References

External links

Dayton Pro Hockey website
{{FHL Federal Prospects Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Dayton, Ohio Ice hockey clubs established in 2015 2015 establishments in Ohio