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New jersey now las vegas gladiators


CubsFanBudMan

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People barley go out to the Meadowlands to see the Devils (2 stanley cups) or the Nets (NBA Finals), who is gonna go to see an arena football team?

I love my Devils and my Nets, and i hope they get this arena in Newark...they need a city identity, and they need a place that can be reached easily (PATH trains, NJ Transit buses), and hopefully it will transform newark much like the Gund arena and Jacobs field did to Cleveland.

P.S. they are also planning a 20,000 seat expandable soccer stadium for the Metrostars to go next to the Arena and Riverfront Stadium, the minor league home of the Newark Bears.

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i hate to double post, but here's the story from NBCSports.com:

The New Jersey Gladiators are going to Vegas.

“The word is out there that they are going to hold a press conference tomorrow,” NJSEA chief executive George Zoffinger said in a telephone interview. “We have tried repeatedly to reach them and they have not returned our calls.”

      Gladiators spokesman Jeff Slavinsky referred all questions to league spokesman Chris McCloskey. A message left at McCloskey’s home in New York City was not immediately returned.

      “We wish them a lot of luck,” Zoffinger said sarcastically. “Hopefully, they can draw better than the 2,000 fans they got here.”

      Zoffinger said the Gladiators’ defection would not have an economic impact on the sports authority.

      “We didn’t charge them rent for the last five years,” Zoffinger said. “We were lucky to break even. We told them this year we were going to charge them rent and they decided to leave.”  

       Zoffinger said the sports authority had signed a contract for an eight-game season. The rent would be $40,000, Zoffinger said.

      “We’re disappointed in the professionalism of that organization,” Zoffinger said. “They didn’t even have the courtesy to call us. We expect them to live up to the contract.”

      The Gladiators posted a 9-5 record in winning the Eastern Division of the National Conference last season. They received a first-round bye and were eliminated by Orlando in the next round.

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The AP confirmation from last night... also confirms that logo and name will stay the same.

N.J. Gladiators moving to Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The New Jersey Gladiators of the Arena Football League are moving to Las Vegas next season, officials said Friday.

The Gladiators, who struggled to attract fans in New Jersey, will play an eight-game season starting in February at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.

But questions over team finances hovered over the announcement in Las Vegas by team owner Jim Ferraro, head coach Frank Haege and Thomas & Mack director Daren Libonati.

The team had already signed a contract for next season with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

Authority head George Zoffinger said Wednesday that arena rent would be $40,000 and he expects the team to pay that amount. He said team officials had not returned his phone calls about the move.

Libonati said the Gladiators agreed to a one-season deal with an option for three more seasons at Thomas & Mack Center.

Las Vegas had an Arena Football League team when the Sting played at Thomas & Mack in 1994 and the MGM Grand Garden Arena in 1995. The team then moved to Anaheim, Calif.

The Gladiators will keep their nickname, players and most of their schedule. The team won the Eastern Division last season with a 9-5 record but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Arena Football League started in 1987. It has 16 teams in four divisions.

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