Greenville Swamp Rabbits The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville , South Carolina . The team is a member of the ECHL and play their home games at the BI - LO Center in downtown Greenville . The franchise had previously played as the Johnstown Chiefs from the ECHL ' s inception in 1988 until the team ' s relocation in 2010 . The Road Warriors are the second ECHL franchise to play in Greenville , as the city hosted the Greenville Grrrowl from 1998 until 2006 . The team was renamed to its present name on August 25 , 2015 . The name is a local reference to the Greenville and Northern Railroad which linked Greenville to the coal fields in Tennessee and was nicknamed by the " Swamp Rabbit " by locals and was completed in the 1920 ' s . Greenville Grrrowl . Greenville ' s first ECHL franchise were the Greenville Grrrowl who were awarded expansion rights in 1998 along with the Florida Everblades in Estero , Florida and played their home games at the BI - LO Center . The Grrrowl would finish their inaugural season in last place in the Southeast Division , with a record of 26 - 33 - 11 . The following season saw great improvement by the Grrrowl on the ice , finishing with the third best record in the Southern Conference and reaching the Southern Conference Finals , before losing to the Louisiana IceGators , 4 games to 2 . The Grrrowl would see checkered success throughout their time in the ECHL , bouncing in and out of the playoffs before winning their first and only Kelly Cup during the 2001 - 02 season , sweeping the Dayton Bombers in the finals in four games . Despite some success on the ice , the Grrrowl continually faced problems with attendance , losing around 1 , 000 fans per game per season . The Grrrowl would fold following the 2005 - 06 season , after running a $ 1 , 000 , 000 deficit during 2005 that left the team unable to attract new investors . In June 2006 the BI - LO Center announced they were willing to pay $ 350 , 000 to keep the team afloat , hoping to entice developers to save the team . However , the Grrrowl failed to find new sources of financing and the ECHL revoked the team ' s franchise rights . Franchise history . Johnstown Chiefs ( 1988 – 2010 ) . The Johnstown Chiefs were one of five franchises that founded the East Coast Hockey League in 1988 . Johnstown ' s initial owners had wanted to name the team the Jets in reference of a previous franchise that had played in various leagues from 1950 until 1977 . However , the original Johnstown Jets owners owned the name and refused to allow the ECHL franchise to use it . The owners of the ECHL franchise instead decided to name the team the Chiefs in reference to the Charlestown Chiefs from the ice hockey movie " Slap Shot " which was filmed in Johnstown . The Chiefs played their home games at Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown for all 22 of their season in the ECHL . In the inaugural season of the team and the ECHL , Johnstown finished second in the regular season standings and were the runner - ups in the inaugural Riley Cup finals , losing to the Winston - Salem Thunderbirds 4 games to 3 . Although the Chiefs had played in the ECHL for 22 seasons , the had never won a division , conference , Brabham Cup or Riley / Kelly Cup title . Throughout Johnstown ' s history , the club had affiliation agreements with the Boston Bruins , Colorado Avalanche , Columbus Blue Jackets , Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins . The Chiefs would flounder for several years as the owners of the team tried to find local ownership for the team , but failed . After losing a reported $ 100 , 000 per year and facing an expensive rent posted by the War Memorial Arena ' s new owners , the Chiefs started to listen to offers to relocate the team . Relocation to Greenville . On February 13 , 2010 , the Tribune - Democrat reported that television reports from Greenville stated that the Chiefs would be relocated to Greenville following the 2009 - 10 season and compete at the BI - LO Center . Two days later the Tribune - Democrat confirmed previous reports that the Johnstown Chiefs would relocate to Greenville , pending approval by Greenville ' s arena board and the ECHL ' s Board of Governors . On February 15 , 2010 , the Greenville Arena District Board announced that they had agreed to a five - year deal to bring the Johnstown Chiefs to Greenville ' s BI - LO Center . The importance of the new Greenville team financially helps the two nearby teams in the ECHL that had lost a rival ( Charlotte ) to the AHL for the upcoming season ; the Gwinnett Gladiators via Interstate 85 , and the South Carolina Stingrays ( Charleston ) via Interstate 26 through Interstate 385 . While Gwinnett is the closer rivalry , the Charleston rivalry is an in - state rivalry and the older , more established rivalry ( ninth season versus sixth season ) . Cincinnati Cyclones assistant coach Dean Stork was named the franchise ' s first head coach on June 29 , 2010 .