The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced that the Texas Tornado membership has been sold and relocated to North Richland Hills and will become the Lone Star Brahmas. The new ownership group, Texas Hockey Partners (THP), led by brothers Salvatore and Frank Trazzera, was granted approval to operate in the Dallas/Fort Worthmarket conditioned upon acquiring and relocating the existing NAHL membership of the Texas Tornado. THP has met additional terms and conditions and was granted a membership into the NAHL effective for the 2013-14 season and will compete in the South Division, according to a news release from the NAHL. “We are excited about the opportunity to become a member of the NAHL. We have a great deal of respect and admiration for the history of success the Texas Tornado has accomplished over the years. Their contribution to the growth of amateur hockey in the State of Texas should be commended,” said Salvatore Trazzera, owner of Texas Hockey Partners LLC. “The Tornado’s history of success will certainly be a challenge we as an organization aspire to achieve in the coming years.” The Fort Worth Brahmas hockey team, which had been playing out of the NYTEX Centre, will not play next season in the Central Hockey League (CHL) and the team’s future remains an open question. According to the CHL news release from June, “The League is working to find a more suitable venue for the club to return to play in 2014-15. The club previously took a one year hiatus (2006-07) while switching venues.” The Brahmas changed ownership last year with a group of Fort Worth businessmen, led by Mike Atkinson, purchasing the team from longtime owner Stuart Fraser. The Brahmas have been playing most of their games at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills. Trazzera hopes to bring a winning team back to the arena. “We hope to create the same excitement reminiscent of the year the Texas Brahmas won the Central Hockey League’s Ray Miron Presidents Cup in 2009,” said Frank Trazzera, co-owner of Texas Hockey Partners. The Lone Star Brahmas will play their home games out of NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, which seats 2,400 spectators for hockey games. The multi-purpose facility has a restaurant, sports shop, concession stands, private locker rooms, training rooms and team offices on site. It also hosts other sporting events like indoor soccer, lacrosse, roller derby, concerts and is the home of USA Volleyball Club, Tejas Volleyball. It is owned by NYTEX Sports LLC, a sports management firm based in New York and Texas. NYTEX was the previous home to the NAHL’s Texas Tornado from 1999-03 and the NAHL’s Lone Star Cavalry from 2003-04. “The NYTEX Sports Centre was originally built with a junior team in mind and is an ideal venue for an NAHL club,” said NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld. “This relocation does not change our South Division footprint and keeps the franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth market, which has proven to be very valuable and supportive over the last 15 years. The Texas Tornado will go down as one of the best franchises in junior hockey history, and we remain confident that the Brahmas organization will do everything to continue that track record of success.”