Duke City Gladiators

Duke City Gladiators
Founded 2015
League Champions Indoor Football (2015–present)
Division Central
Team history Duke City Gladiators (2015–present)
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Arena Tingley Coliseum
Colors Silver, Black, White
              
Owner(s) Duke City Gladiators, Inc.
Head coach Dominic Bramante
General Manager Matt Caward
Website dukecitygladiators.com

The Duke City Gladiators are a professional indoor football team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They began play in March 2015 as members of the Champions Indoor Football league. The Gladiators play their home games at Tingley Coliseum.[1][2]

The Gladiators are led on the field by head coach Dominic Bramante and off by majority owner John Lopez and Co-founder/general manager Matt Caward.[3] The Gladiators' offensive coordinator is Martino Theus.[4] (Theus joined the team in mid-April, replacing Roger Linn.)[4] The strength and conditioning coach is Jessica Gentry.[5] The dance/cheer team is known as the Duke City Gladiator Dancers, led by coach Leslie Chant owner of Fusion Dance Studios, Albuquerque, NM. [6]

History

The team was formed in February 2015 and joined the CIF after the Rio Rancho-based New Mexico Stars cancelled their entry into the league shortly before the season began.[7][8][9] (In April 2015, the Stars announced that they would instead join the North American Indoor Football for 2016.)[10] The Gladiators had originally looked to join the X-League Indoor Football but geographical and financial considerations as well as the sudden availability of the CIF franchise slot led the team to change directions.[11][6]

The team is selling "shares" in the team for a starting price of $1,000 per share.[12] The benefits of being a shareholder include two "lifetime" season passes, free parking, VIP seating-to Gladiators games with field level seating, invitations to special events, and access to the owner's box at the arena along with other exclusive benefits such as apparel and more. [13] The shares were initially promoted as offering partial ownership in the team but state regulators advised the team to clarify that these shares provide membership in an elite booster club and not accrue profits to the shareholders much like the offerings given to the Green Bay Packers which were a model used by the organization to model their own offering. [14] The ownership of the team is held by Duke City Sports Entertainment Group, INC. A for profit corporation made up of a local ownership group overseen by CFO, and majority owner John Lopez. This group includes some of Albuquerque successful business owners including Will Ferguson, William Gardner, DDS and other investors such as Director of Media Relations Andres Trujillo. [15][16] Former NFL player Terance Mathis was part of the original ownership group until leaving in May 2015.[17] The Gladiators welcomed new Co-Owner John Lopez in 2015 season, and was elected CFO. Mr. Lopez is a native of New Mexico, born and raised in Santa Fe. He is a well known and highly respected real estate agent of over 20 years, he serves on several community boards and operates several very successful businesses in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

2015

The Gladiators are playing an abbreviated 11-game CIF schedule in 2015, mostly as a direct replacement for the New Mexico Stars, but with some modifications and non-league games because of prior scheduling maneuvers and arena availability.[6][18][9] The team opened training camp on March 15.[19] Their first indoor practice session was March 24.[2] Regular season promotions included Hispanic Heritage Night on March 28 and Public Service Day on April 26.[20]

Roster

Duke City Gladiators roster
Quarterbacks
  • Currently vacant

Running Backs

  • Currently vacant

Wide Receivers

  • Currently vacant
 Offensive Linemen
  • Currently vacant

Defensive Linemen

  • Currently vacant
 Linebackers
  • Currently vacant

Defensive Backs

  • Currently vacant

Kickers

  • Currently vacant
 Injured Reserve
  • Currently vacant

Transfer List

  • Currently vacant

Refuse to Report

  • Currently vacant

Roster updated October 11, 2016
0 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Statistics and records

Season-by-season results

Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason Results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2015 2015 CIF 5th 7 4 0
2016 2016 CIF Southern 4th 6 6 0
Totals 13 10 0 All-time regular season record (2016)
0 0 — All-time postseason record (2016)
13 10 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2016)

* Season currently in progress

References

  1. ↑ Christ, Bob (February 23, 2015). "Gladiators plan to call Tingley home in maiden season". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Christ, Bob (March 26, 2015). "Tingley getting ready for Gladiators' home debut". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Christ, Bob (February 25, 2015). "Owner of Gladiators made things happen in a hurry". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Christ, Bob (April 18, 2015). "Gladiators get 2 aggressive DEs". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ Christ, Bob (March 9, 2015). "Indoor football: Gladiators hard at work as season nears". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Christ, Bob (March 3, 2015). "Gladiators will compete in Champions League". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ Christ, Bob (February 22, 2015). "NM Stars owners pull plug on season". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Jones, Darlene (February 22, 2015). "New Mexico Stars will not play the CIF 2015 season". Champions Indoor Football. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Christ, Bob (May 23, 2015). "Arena of the absurd: Local indoor football has had funny bounces". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ Christ, Bob (April 18, 2015). "Stars announce plans to play in upstart indoor league in 2016". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Herron, Gary (February 25, 2015). "New football team comes to Albuquerque". Rio Rancho Observer. Rio Rancho, NM: RR Community Publishing LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ Tate, Van (February 24, 2015). "Duke City Gladiators believe they will succeed". Albuquerque, NM: KRQE-TV. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  13. ↑ Dyson, Stuart (February 24, 2015). "New indoor football team coming to Albuquerque -- the Duke City Gladiators". Albuquerque, NM: KOB-TV. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ Miller, Cole (April 15, 2015). "Gladiators, state sort out stock dispute". Albuquerque, NM: KRQE-TV. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  15. ↑ Beale, Andy (February 24, 2015). "New ABQ pro indoor football team to be partially publicly owned". Albuquerque Business First. Albuquerque, NM: American City Business Journals. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ Murrieta, J.P. (March 3, 2015). "Duke City Gladiators to play in Champions League". Albuquerque, NM: KOB-TV. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ Tate, Van (May 7, 2015). "Mathis parts ways with Gladiators". Albuquerque, NM: KRQE-TV. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ "CIF Enjoys Relief and Balance with Replacement Team in New Mexico". Champions Indoor Football. March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Our Sports Central.
  19. ↑ Walker, Amy (March 19, 2015). "Duke City Gladiators begin spring training". Albuquerque, NM: KRQE-TV. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  20. ↑ Tate, Van (March 25, 2015). "Gladiators ready for home opener". Albuquerque, NM: KRQE-TV. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
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