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Despite the strong attendance figures in Pittsburgh, the Pipers moved to Minnesota in 1968, becoming the Minnesota Pipers. When the Minnesota Muskies had trouble drawing people in the league's first season and moved to Miami to become the Miami Floridians, it left the state without an ABA club. The league's office was based in Minneapolis (home of league commissioner George Mikan), so the Pipers moved when a local attorney named Bill Erickson bought a majority share of the team. As with the Muskies, their home arena was Bloomington's Met Center. However, the Pipers fared no better than the Muskies had and moved back to Pittsburgh after only one season. In Terry Pluto's book on the ABA, Loose Balls, Pipers co-owner Gabe Rubin says he returned to the Steel City because he couldn't think of anywhere else to go.
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