The franchise began as the Chesapeake Icebreakers in 1997. After being purchased in 1999 by a company called Mississippi Indoor Sports headed by majority owners and Mississippi businessmen Bernie Ebbers, the then MCI WorldCom president and CEO, and J.L. Holloway, the then president and CEO of Friede-Goldman International, the franchise was moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and began playing home games at the Mississippi Coliseum. The team was renamed the Jackson Bandits in reference to outlaws famous for robbing wealthy travelers along the Natchez Trace in the 19th century.