Barry Kemp, the majority owner of the Long Beach Ice Dogs, was awarded an ECHL expansion franchise to play in Ontario, California.

In 2004, Kemp partnered with Rick Adams, David LeFevre, John Butler, and Mike Nelson to create Bloomington Partners[1][2] and transferred the Ontario ECHL franchise rights to Bloomington, Illinois, with the intention to begin play in the 2005–06 season.

[3] After an apparent fallout among the Bloomington Partners,[4] the city voided its contract with the ownership group for the arena.

In the off-season of 2006–07, the Roadrunners cemented an affiliation deal with the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

[8] In the front office, Claude Lemieux chose to resign as president, but stated that he would continue to act as a consultant to the team.

The fourth and final season, 2008–09, started with the Roadrunners facing off against their rivals the Victoria Salmon Kings, with the three game series going two-of-three to the Runners.

[11] The ECHL team brought a major change of the entire costume, most notably the skin, which turned a bright yellow compared to a shade of brown in previous years.

The 2007–08 ECHL season coincided with Rocky's 40th year of service, which was by far the oldest mascot in the history of any pro sports team in Arizona.