Chicago Hounds
Founded	2006
Disbanded	2009
Home ice	Sears Centre Sears Centre The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb, 25 miles from Chicago. The arena has 43 luxury suites on two separate levels...
Based in	Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...
Colors	black, blue, gold
League	United Hockey League United Hockey League The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

The Chicago Hounds were a professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team in the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

 for the 2006-07 UHL season. They played their home games at the Sears Centre

Sears Centre

The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb, 25 miles from Chicago. The arena has 43 luxury suites on two separate levels...

 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...

. The Hounds franchise was officially a relocation of the Richmond RiverDogs

Richmond RiverDogs

The Richmond RiverDogs were a professional minor league ice hockey franchise based in Richmond, Virginia. They played at the Richmond Coliseum....

 franchise, which played in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 for three seasons from 2003-2006. Their only coach was former Fort Wayne Komets

Fort Wayne Komets

The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey franchise currently a member of the Central Hockey League in the Northern Conference. The team was previously a member of the International Hockey League before it merged into the CHL in 2010...

 coach, Greg Puhalski, who came in as the having the most wins as a head coach in UHL history.

The Hounds got off to an inauspicious start, as their first home game was canceled due to bad ice at the brand new Sears Centre. The game was supposed to start at 7:30pm Central Time, but the decision to cancel was not announced until 9pm. Several fans were alleged to have thrown rubber pucks for the Chuck-A-Puck promotion in the direction of UHL commissioner Richard Brosal, who was the one that made the official announcement to the fans.

On June 6, 2007, Hounds owner Craig Drecktrah ceased the team's operations, saying his inability to negotiate a reasonable lease with the Sears Centre brought him to this decision. Drecktrah said the Sears Centre wanted him to take mostly weekdays, leaving the more desirable weekend dates for the other tenants. He also said the building management wanted to triple the cost of his lease. Technically, the franchise is on hiatus while Drecktrah looks for a new market; that may be hard, as the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 and the USHL have already tied up most of the attractive markets within the new IHL footprint. At the time of the announcement, Chicago joined four other UHL teams, the Elmira Jackals

Elmira Jackals

The Elmira Jackals are an ice hockey team that play in the ECHL. Their home games are played in First Arena in Elmira, New York and they refer to themselves as "the beasts of the east"...

, Port Huron Flags

Port Huron Flags (UHL)

The Port Huron Flags were a minor league professional ice hockey team located in Port Huron, Michigan. The Flags competed in the United Hockey League for two seasons, between the 2005 and 2007 seasons...

, Quad City Mallards

Quad City Mallards

The Quad City Mallards were a professional ice hockey team competing in the AA level United Hockey League. The Mallards played their home games at The MARK of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois. Their team colors were forest green and burgundy. They won the Colonial Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2001,...

, and Rockford IceHogs to leave the league after the 2006-07 season.

The team attempted to resume play in the IHL for the 2008-09 season, however Drecktrah was unable to secure a venue in the Chicago area. As a result, the Hounds future remains uncertain. As of March 10, 2009, the website for the Hounds has been updated with a new logo similar to the Iowa Chops in style and a message stating "Coming Spring 2009". However, as of December 2009, the website hasn't changed.

But since the Sears Centre is under new ownership, a newspaper is reporting the Hounds ownership is interested in bringing back minor league hockey to the Sears Centre.http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=349940

In the summer of 2010, it was announced that Drecktrah would be bringing an ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 team, the Chicago Express

Chicago Express

Chicago Express Airlines, Inc. was a regional airline headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.It operated regional feeder services from Chicago Midway Airport under the name ATA Connection. On June 1, 1999, ATA Airlines acquired Chicago Express for $1.9 million...

, to the Sears Centre for the 2011-12 season, effectively ending any potential attempt to restart the Hounds.