Gladiators are making Rio Rancho their home
At least on a temp basis in pandemic
The Duke City Gladiators and owner Gina Prieskorn-Thomas took another gut punch this week in quest of opening their Indoor Football League season in front of the home fans.
Because of COVID-19 protocols, they had been pushing back, back, back their overall schedule and first home game, which was originally set for April 4, in hopes the pandemic would ease and fans would be allowed to attend indoor sporting events.
But she said since it appears Bernalillo County and their original home at Tingley Coliseum — a vaccination headquarters — would remain “yellow” and off-limits for the long haul, the Gladiators had to think outside the box. In this case, outside the county.
At which time Sandoval County and the Rio Rancho Events Center came into play thanks in large part to Rio Rancho mayor Gregg Hull.
“I called Gregg maybe two months ago and he hooked me up with the powers that be with the Events Center and we worked it out,” PrieskornThomas said. “It’s not home, but it’s a nice alternative. And
it was close by.”
But then came this week’s gut punch, when Sandoval remained “yellow” despite hopes it could go green. Thus, still no fans allowed.
A resounding “arrggh!” could be heard at team headquarters on Menaul Boulevard.
“I’m salivating, holding my breath, I’m praying, ‘Please let us get back on the field and in front of our home fans,’” PrieskornThomas said Thursday. “(The Events Center) is the only place we can go. And they have the arena already set up.”
Regardless of its COVID status, she said the team plans to play its entire seven-game home schedule without fans if necessary.
Events Center folks have experience with the indoor game, having played host to games by the now-defunct New Mexico Stars from 2012-14 and again in 2016 after operations paused in 2015.
The Gladiators now await the next state COVID update, scheduled for May 5.
NEXT: Forty player candidates are scheduled to open preseason camp May 6 at the Events Center.
Coach Martino Theus and his staff are scheduled to make cuts to 30 before opening the season on the road May 22 against the Iowa Barnstormers before returning to host the Tucson Sugar Skulls on May 30,
“We could have sold our game our game to Tucson (if no fans),” Prieskorn-Thomas said, “but I wanted to give our guys a chance to play at home.”
That is another reason the team didn’t attempt to play its “home” games in Amarillo, which Prieskorn-Thomas said she had considered previously.
The second and third home games would be June 19 vs. the Arizona Rattlers and June 26 vs. the Frisco (Texas) Fighters.