The Packs were unhappy playing their team in the Premier League. Travelling costs were significant for the predominantly south-east based league and spectator numbers fell. After the end of the 2005–06 season, the Stingrays sought admission into the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their application was finally approved after weeks of speculation on 22 June 2006. Hull now have a representative in the top-flight division of British Ice Hockey for the first time since the Humberside Hawks played in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League in the 1995–96 season.