Dayton is definitely scorched and potentially may never return.
Just a brief history. Dayton started out strong with the Gems in the IHL at Hara Arena. They were one of the premier minor league teams in the country. They did so well that Dayton attracted the WHA and was to have an inaugural team, the Dayton Aeros. The city seemed loyal to the Gems and wasn't willing to work with the Aeros to make it work and University of Dayton was unwilling to add ice to their arena, so they fled. Unfortunately, the Gems too would eventually fold at the end of the decade due to the bad economic downturn in the 70's.
There were a few attempts to quickly keep Dayton alive in the IHL. There were the Dayton Owls who flew the coop mid-season, then there was the Gems 2.0 which also lasted just a season. The 80's were largely a time of dormancy with the exception for a brief attempt in the mid-80's with the Dayton Jets of the low level Continental Hockey League, renamed All-American Hockey League for season 2 before the Jets too failed.
After a few more years, the time was finally right. A solid ownership group brought us the Bombers of the ECHL. People were finally ready for hockey again and they were a huge hit. So huge that they decided they needed a bigger arena. This is where I mark the beginning of the long slow death of hockey in Dayton. When they moved to the Nutter Center, a part of the deal was helping to finance the installation of an ice plant. The Bombers didn't fill up the Nutt as hoped and the owners began losing money from the financial obligations of that ice plant and higher rent. They sold the team.
The new owner drove the team into the ground. He ran it on a shoestring budget. It was during this time that all the fun promotional stuff disappeared from games. There was no advertising. He burned bridges within the community. Ultimately, the ECHL stripped him of the franchise. Immediately a couple guys came in to save the Bombers. They certainly tried their best and I applaud them, but unfortunately the previous owner left them with too steep of an uphill battle and they ultimately folded the team. It's a shame because they did a good job. I'd say the Bombers were averaging about 2,500-3,000 fans at this point.
This would have been a good time to let hockey lay dormant a bit to find a good plan and to let people start to miss it, but in come a couple of bozos to quickly set up shop during the summer to keep hockey going in the fall, creating the Gems 3.0 for the IHL 2.0, returning to the now dilapidated Hara Arena. They already had a bad rep from their restaurant they owned. Non-payment issues and whatnot. Well, the same type of crap seemed to occur here and they were stripped of the franchise just a month into the season. A good local ownership group quickly swooped in to save the team. Unfortunately, due to the way the ousted owners had hastily assembled the team and scorched bridges, they struggled to turn the ship around. They had originally wanted to bring hockey back but were waiting to do it right, so when the bozos before them stumbled in, it put them in the unfortunate situation to just try to save this team and make it work. They lasted 3 seasons. The attendance by this point was probably down to about 1500-2000.
Now would be a good time to go dormant, but the "bad hockey is better than no hockey" people got their wish and in came the FHL circus, bringing us the Demonz (originally to be called the Devils until New Jersey quickly sent a cease and desist.) Now in a joke league with a few teams in a crappy arena in a crappy part of town, we're looking at 1,000 or less per game. After a few seasons, it goes belly up only to have the Berkshire Battalion move here and become the Demolition. By this point the attendance had evaporated to around 200-500 people. Mid season, due to rumored non-payment issues, they temporarily played in a rec rink, South Metro Sports, before returning to Hara. The owner was stripped of the franchise mid season and came in a new owner to finish the season.
Thankfully Dayton hockey was finally put out of its misery. That new Demolition owner planned to return with a new name for the team, but Hara finally shut its doors. After several years of in-fighting between the heirs of the original owner that prevented improvements from happening, the arena just slowly fell into disrepair, losing business along the way looking for greener pastures. That area in general saw lots of businesses close up shop, including a mall and several major box stores like Wal-Mart, which also kept people away. Nobody wanted to go there. Just a couple years after Hara shut its doors, a tornado would ensure that it would never be re-opened.
This leaves Dayton in a bad spot. The reputation of hockey has been destroyed by several bad owners. The only mid-size ice arena is gone. The Nutter Center center is too big. So where do you go?
I think if hockey ever has a chance to succeed here again, a number of things must occur.
1. Hockey needs to stay dormant for awhile. Give people a chance to miss it and enough new residents that never had hockey here.
2. A brand new downtown arena. There were discussions of such a thing at one time, but those have long died and not sure it will ever be considered. Downtown has brought in plenty of new stuff (baseball stadium, theatre, parks, etc.) that brought much excitement. The Nutter Center just has a failed stench to it, so I think the excitement of something new and downtown would likely be more successful for a good ownership group than moving into something old.
3. A top quality ownership group in a reputable league. In conjunction of a new arena, you would want the buzz of a serious ownership group with an AHL or ECHL team in tow. Lesser leagues and fly-by-night owners aren't going to cut it anymore here.
4. The Blue Jackets must win. They must turn it around, become an annual powerhouse, and win the Cup. The success of the Jackets would certainly grow interest in hockey, making people want and be receptive to having their own hockey team in Dayton. Successful NHL teams regularly enhance the popularity of the sport in their region.
Sadly, I'm not holding my breath. Hockey may not ever return during my lifetime here. It took baseball 50 years to return. An arena not in the plans pretty much stifles all my other bullet points. And even then, those other things may never come to fruition either.
Your points contain all the sorts of serious considerations that minor pro hockey fans should mull over when dreaming about having a team come to (and stick around in) their home towns. Thanks for your Dayton history lesson & for your educational contributions to this thread. 
