The Admirals' owners sold their ECHL franchise rights to the Columbus Cottonmouths, an organization that had been playing in the Central Hockey League, in 2001.

During the league's teleconference in April 2005, ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna attempted to contact DVS Sports, the firm in charge of building the new arena.

Despite a full season without a game played, coach Brian Curran was retained by the team and remained under contract during the franchise's inactive status.

The decision was made at the annual ECHL Board Of Governors meeting, which was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A statement from then-ECHL commissioner McKenna said that "there's a lot of talk, but we have not been presented with any evidence that it is moving forward.

Court battles and bankruptcy hearings (including two for DVS Sports) prevented the property from being sold beforehand.