However, Dayton residents were indifferent to a WHA team, and there were doubts that a U.S. market with less than a million people and a stagnating economy would support a major league hockey franchise.

[2] Although the name "Aeros" had been chosen in honor of the Wright brothers, who had lived and worked in Dayton, it was deemed appropriate for Houston given its importance in the space industry.

They won the AVCO World Trophy in 1974 over the Chicago Cougars and in 1975 over the Quebec Nordiques, winning both series in four-game sweeps.

Of the three Sun Belt teams that had joined the league since 1967, one, the California Golden Seals, had relocated and another, the Atlanta Flames, were struggling financially.

The obvious candidate to move was the Cleveland Barons (formerly the Golden Seals), who had barely survived the season and were on the verge of folding.

Schnitzer believed the older league would accept almost any other proposal as an alternative to the embarrassment of having to disband a franchise, and did come close to a deal to relocate the moribund Barons to Houston.

However, the NHL opted instead to approve a proposal from the owners of the Minnesota North Stars to buy the Barons franchise and merge it with their own.