Until the 1990s, hockey teams in the South were few and far between. The heat prevalent in the southern states did not exactly lend itself to ice-based sports, leading locals to favor warm-weather sports such as baseball and football. However, the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) expansion teams began to gradually make their way further south throughout the 1990s, spreading a new interest in the sport. In 1993, the expansion reached Texas when the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, becoming the beloved Dallas Stars.
With these new NHL teams came their minor league counterparts. The majority of these new minor league teams belonged to the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL), which operated from 1996-2001 and stretched from New Mexico to Mississippi. In 1996, Waco became home to one of Texas’ five (soon to become eleven) WPHL teams, the Wizards. The Waco Wizards played in the WPHL’s first ever game on October 16, 1996, against the Central Texas Stampede from Belton. The game resulted in an unfortunate 5-4 loss for Waco.
The Wizards played their home games in Waco’s Heart of Texas Coliseum, now called the Extraco Events Center. Their first home game exemplified both the struggles and the vibrancy of minor league play in the South. Waco’s humidity caused a thick fog to gather over the ice, and the Wizards’ administration had to send for dehumidifiers from Dallas to dry out the building. They were able to clear some of the fog, but the glass around the rink remained foggy throughout the game, blocking the enthusiastic but somewhat confused fans. On top of that, a creative and well-intentioned mascot stunt went awry. During the pre-game ceremonies, the Waco mascot was lowered from the Coliseum’s ceiling in full Wizard costume. Unfortunately, the bulky costume got in the way of the mascot attempting to release himself from the straps after the stunt, resulting in him hanging for a while over the ice.
In their first season, the Wizards averaged 3,161 fans in attendance (about one third of the Coliseum’s capacity) and finished with a 30-34 record. The team experienced a sophomore slump the next year, averaging 2,048 fans in attendance each game and finishing 18-51, a WPHL record for a team’s worst season. However, new head coach Todd Lalonde turned the team around in its third season and brought the Wizards to the playoffs after achieving the Wizards’ first ever winning record with 40 wins and 29 losses. Despite the Wizards’ success, attendance stayed low, with an average of 2,137 fans a game.
In their three and a half seasons, the Wizards replaced their manager four times and never had a player advance to the National Hockey League (NHL). Their overall record came to 99 wins and 114 losses. During the first three seasons of operation, the team reportedly lost three million dollars. In 1999, the Wizard’s owner, Ohio businessman Joe Milano, sold the team to Rick Dames, a radio station owner from Corpus Christi. Dames in turn partnered with baseball executives Stu and Sue Kehoe in an attempt to revitalize the dying franchise. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and when they were unable to make their lease payment to the Coliseum, the team folded after only having played 27 games in the 1999-2000 season. The Wizards went out the same way they began: with a loss, this time to the Corpus Christi IceRays.
The WPHL lasted another year after the Wizards folded before merging with the Central Hockey League, which in turn lasted until 2013. The WPHL saw a resurrection in 2024, when a group of minor league teams in California came together to revive the once-beloved league. Although the Wizards only existed for a few years, they sparked a love for hockey in the people of Waco.
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]]>In the early 1950s, McLennan County voters approved a $1.2 million bond towards the construction of a new agricultural and entertainment venue. Contractors Farnsworth and Chambers of Houston, Texas, worked alongside local architect Harris H. Roberts to design a fair-ground and coliseum that could house a yearly exposition that would recall the glory of the Texas Cotton Palace. Although cotton was no longer king, the exposition was intended to “serve as a showplace for the finest yields of the soil” and the “best” of the region’s livestock. Echoing sentiments expressed by his Cotton Palace predecessors, Waco Mayor Ralph Wood hoped that the fair would “be an inspiration to lead to still greater progress and prosperity” within the region.
Though the original plans for the grounds had to be slightly scaled back due to the advent of the Korean War and ensuing labor and material shortages, the grandiose vision of fair organizers was largely realized. Totaling 253 acres, the fairgrounds were the largest of their kind west of the Mississippi. Additionally, upon its completion in 1953, the coliseum boasted the largest indoor arena in the state and was the second largest coliseum in Texas, measuring 366½ feet long and 246½ feet wide.
The coliseum (and fair by extension) found its name through a nationwide contest. Fair organizers received five thousand entries from not only Texan hopefuls but individuals in such faraway states as South Carolina, California, and New Mexico. The winning submission, “Heart O’ Texas Coliseum,” came from Mrs. John Cousins of McGregor, Texas. She received $100 in prize money for her effort.
For those seeking a return to the glory days of the Texas Cotton Palace exposition, the inaugural 1953 Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo did not disappoint. Regional livestock and produce took pride of place in the fair’s multiple exhibition tents. The Women’s Division presented the best Central Texas had to offer by way of handicrafts, baked goods, and preserves. Renowned rodeo producer Tommy Steiner oversaw such popular events as trick riding and steer wrestling in the main arena. Other notable fair attractions included: a special military display featuring miniatures of the aircraft carriers the U. S. S. Alamo and U. S. S. Shangri-La, a Texas wildlife display, fireworks, and a performance by the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley.
Although the first half of the twentieth century was not kind to the Texas Cotton Palace, its latter half saw the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo flourish via outside accolades and civic investment. In 1974, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) named the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo one of its top rodeos, a high honor indeed for Waco and McLennan County. Steady attendance records and continued community support also made possible a $20 million dollar face-lift to the coliseum and the renovation of its adjacent buildings in 1996. The Show Pavilion also received necessary upgrades in 2000.
The Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo introduced a scholarship program in 1991. Initially, nineteen $100 scholarships were awarded to a single student from each of McLennan County’s high schools. As the program progressed, the amount of financial aid available to deserving students increased. In 2013, the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo Scholarship Fund awarded $40,000 to the youths of McLennan County with an additional $5,000 given to two worthy students as part of the 4-H Youth Development Foundation Awards Program.
The Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo has proven itself to be a worthy successor of the Texas Cotton Palace exposition due to its showcasing of Central Texas culture and commerce.
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