The Greensboro Generals were an

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

team based in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, and played at the

Greensboro Coliseum First Horizon Coliseum (formerly Greensboro Coliseum) is an arena in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959 as the first building of the Greensboro Complex, the 22,000-seat arena is the home arena of the UNC Greensboro Spartans basketball t ...

from 1999 to 2004. The name was originally used by the

Greensboro Generals The Greensboro Generals were an East Coast Hockey League team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and played at the Greensboro Coliseum from 1999 to 2004. The name was originally used by the Greensboro Generals in the Eastern Hockey League. Th ...

in the Eastern Hockey League. The ECHL Generals franchise replaced the

Greensboro Monarchs The Greensboro Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Monarchs joined the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) as an expansion franchise prior to the start of the 1989–90 season and surrendered the fran ...

in the city, which had played from 1989 until 1995 before the ownership bought an expansion franchise in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, called the

Carolina Monarchs The Carolina Monarchs were a short-lived ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum, succeeding the ECHL Greensboro Monarchs, some of whose owners accepted an expansion pro ...

. Both the original Generals and ECHL Monarchs were considered as some of the first southern hockey franchises to build a loyal fan base and draw consistent attendance at their games. In 1997, the AHL's Carolina Monarchs would fold after only two seasons as the Coliseum became host to the relocated

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. During that time, a new arena was being built for the NHL team in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, but would not open until 1999. Prior to the Hurricanes' arrival, the Coliseum was required to make vast improvements to the arena in order to satisfy NHL regulations. Among them were the addition of VIP Suites, a members only club area and upgrades to the ice surface and locker room facilities. Following the Hurricanes' departure, local attorneys Art Donaldson and James Roscetti entered into negotiations with the East Coast Hockey League to secure a franchise for Greensboro. Donaldson and Roscetti were awarded a franchise in July 1999 and had only three months to put together a front office, coaching staff and team. Donaldson and Roscetti decided to bring attention to the franchise right away by hiring former popular ECHL Monarchs' coach Jeff Brubaker as head coach and general manager for their inaugural season. The ECHL would return to Greensboro with the

Greensboro Gargoyles The Greensboro Gargoyles are a future professional minor league ice hockey team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the Piedmont Triad. They will play in the ECHL and bring Greensboro their first ECHL team since the folding of the Greensbor ...

in 2025.

Season-by-season record

References

Defunct ECHL teams Defunct ice hockey teams in North Carolina Sports in Greensboro, North Carolina Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Carolina Hurricanes minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 1999 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2004 1999 establishments in North Carolina 2004 disestablishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-sport-team-stub