In order to preserve the existing af2 schedule, the league office assumed control of the team and hired back the remaining employees.

After a two-month search for a new ownership group, the league ceased operations of the franchise in late July 2002.

The Roanoke Express, a minor league ice hockey team who were owned for a time by the Steam's ownership group and had enjoyed an unprecedented level of popularity in the mid to late 1990s, began to falter in the early 2000s due to a lack of postseason success and an eventual decline in regular season performance and turmoil in ownership and management that contributed to bad press and less effective marketing than earlier seasons.

A United Hockey League franchise, the Roanoke Valley Vipers, relocated to Roanoke for the 2005-2006 season to replace the Express, but this venture folded after just one season due to poor attendance blamed on a losing record, high ticket prices, and a general disconnect between the local fan base and the midwestern-based league and owners.

On May 1, 2004, nearly two years after the Steam folded, their turf field was sold to the owners of the Wichita Falls Thunder indoor football team for the non-negotiable price of $45,000 [2]