Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators are an arena football franchise based in Cleveland , Ohio which plays in the Arena Football League . The team is part of the East division of the AFL ' s American Conference . The Gladiators play all of their home games at Quicken Loans Arena , which they share with the NBA ' s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL ' s Lake Erie Monsters . The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford , New Jersey and then later in Las Vegas , Nevada ; it has been in Cleveland since the AFL ' s 2008 season . The Gladiators have gone to the playoffs five times , playing in the Conference Championship once in 2008 and never reaching the ArenaBowl . Team History . New Jersey Red Dogs ( 1997 – 2000 ) . The New Jersey Red Dogs entered the Arena Football League in 1997 , along with the Nashville Kats and the New York CityHawks . Their ownership group , which was led by New Jersey radio entrepreneur E . Burke Ross , also included several ex - NFL players , such as Joe Morris , Carl Banks , and Harry Carson . The Red Dogs played at Continental Airlines Arena in the East Rutherford , New Jersey . The AFL ' s intention was to add only New Jersey and Nashville for 1997 . However , well after the awarding of the Red Dogs and Kats franchises , the owners of Madison Square Garden in New York City requested a franchise of their own , and the league granted this request . And so the CityHawks also began play in 1997 . This had an impact on the Red Dogs , in that the league then prevented the Red Dogs from advertising in New York . While North Jersey itself is very populous in its own right , the Red Dogs had hoped to be the team for the entire New York metropolitan area . Despite this setback , the Red Dogs management built a good team , which opened its history in memorable fashion . The team won 8 of its first 9 games , including a victory in their inaugural game on a last - second game - winning field goal , a thrilling overtime victory against the Albany Firebirds , a thorough thrashing of the Iowa Barnstormers ( runners - up in the previous year ' s ArenaBowl X ) , and also one game in which they scored a then - record 91 points against the Texas Terror . ( This record has since been surpassed by the New York Dragons , who scored 99 in a game against the Carolina Cobras in 2001 . ) The Red Dogs were led by head coach John Hufnagel , who had been a quarterback and offensive coordinator for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League . After his time with the Red Dogs , Hufnagel went on to be an offensive coach for several National Football League teams , including the New England Patriots and the New York Giants . He then became the head coach of the CFL ' s Stampeders for the 2008 season , and won the Grey Cup in his first season at the helm . Hufnagel brought in several players with CFL experience to the Red Dogs , including QB Rickey Foggie and offensive specialist Larry Ray Willis . The team ' s other main receiver was Alvin Ashley , a player whose small size ( 150 lb . ) made him unlikely to play in the NFL but suited the more compact Arena game . Unfortunately , The Red Dogs slumped late in their first season , losing 4 of their final 5 games to finish 9 - 5 , then losing to the Orlando Predators in the first round of the playoffs . The Red Dogs finished 8 – 6 in 1998 , their second season , and won their first playoff game in Albany against the Firebirds . Hufnagel left the Red Dogs after the 1998 season for a job with the NFL ' s Cleveland Browns , and he was replaced by Frank Mattiace , a former defensive lineman for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL . Star Larry Ray Willis was traded to the Milwaukee Mustangs Following those losses , the Red Dogs slumped in 1999 to their first losing season , going 6 – 8 , despite winning 3 of their first 4 . The Red Dogs made a significant trade following the 1999 season , a trade they never got to benefit from . New Jersey sent Alvin Ashley to the Orlando Predators for wide receiver / defensive back Barry Wagner , widely regarded as the greatest player in the league ' s history . However , soon after the trade , the league and its players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that resulted in several veteran players — including Wagner — gaining free agency . Wagner then signed with the San Jose SaberCats . In 2000 , the Red Dogs , without Wagner , Ashley , and offensive mainstay Chad Lindsey , fell to 4 – 10 . Foggie lost his job as starting QB , replaced by Tommy Maddox , at the time a failed NFL quarterback . Head coach Frank Mattiace left the team in mid - season and was replaced on an interim basis by Kevin Guy , a former defensive back / wide receiver who had played two full seasons with the Red Dogs . New Jersey Gladiators ( 2001 – 2002 ) . Before the 2001 season , the New Jersey team was sold to Jim Ferraro , a lawyer from Miami , Florida . Ferraro changed the team name to the New Jersey Gladiators . The new ownership appointed as head coach the ex - CityHawk boss Lary Kuharich , who had won ArenaBowl VII in 1993 with the Tampa Bay Storm ; and it acquired Connell Maynor from Orlando to be the starting Quarterback . Maynor had led the Predators to victory in ArenaBowl XIV the previous season , and was named the game ' s MVP . An all - around threat , Maynor had played with the CityHawks under Kuharich in 1997 , but took only one snap all season as the backup to Mike Perez . Instead , the CityHawks used Maynor as a wide receiver / linebacker , and one week he even won the award for the league ' s best " ironman " ( player who plays both on offense and defense , as 6 of 8 players use to play both sides of the ball in Arena Football ) . The Gladiators reached the lowest ebb in franchise history during the 2001 season , winning only 2 out of 14 games . The club ' s top receivers attained roughly half the amount of yards that Larry Ray Willis had done in each of the franchise ' s first two seasons , and the rushing leader was Quarterback Maynor himself . In 2002 , the club had another new coach , Frank Haege , who had been a Red Dog assistant under John Hufnagel . After leaving the Red Dogs , Haege went on to coach the Quad City Steamwheelers of the AFL ' s minor - league circuit af2 . Haege ' s Quad City team dominated the af2 for two seasons , winning 31 of 32 regular - season games — including one win by a score of 103 – 3 - - and two championships ( Haege was later charged by the AFL with violating the af2 salary cap rules at Quad City , and was fined heavily by the league . Also , the Quad City team was banned from the af2 playoffs in 2002 ) . The Gladiators ' new Quarterback for 2002 was Jay McDonagh , who had played under Haege . Former Red Dog Alvin Ashley was back with the club , seeing limited duty ; however , this time around the main New Jersey receiver was Mike Horacek , who had starred for the Iowa Barnstormers , and who later returned to that franchise to play for the Dragons . The Gladiators ' fortunes turned around , and they had their first winning season since 1998 , going 9 – 5 and hosting a playoff game for the first time ( a loss to Orlando ) . The New Jersey Gladiators looked all set to go for the 2003 season . The 2003 season would be the first one to begin in February instead of April , and it would be the first one in which the league ' s games would be televised weekly by NBC . However , with only weeks to go before the start of the season , owner Ferraro moved the team to Las Vegas . The move came as a shock to the team ' s fans , as the Gladiators were sending out ticket package offers even through their last week in New Jersey . The AFL schedules for the 2003 season had already been devised , so the Las Vegas Gladiators would play that season in the Eastern Division of the National Conference , before shifting in 2004 to the American Conference ' s Western Division . Las Vegas Gladiators ( 2003 – 2007 ) . The Gladiators relocated to Las Vegas , Nevada for the 2003 season and played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada , Las Vegas . This arena was also the home of a previous Arena team , the Las Vegas Sting , in 1994 and 1995 . In 2007 , in an effort to increase attendance , the Gladiators moved to the Orleans Arena . The move did not have the desired effect . The Gladiators averaged 5 , 383 fans in 2007 , down from 10 , 115 in 2006 . The Gladiators competed in the Western Division of the AFL ' s American Conference . The team went 31 – 50 in five years in Las Vegas , making the playoffs once . Cleveland Gladiators ( 2008 – Present ) . 2008 season . On October 16 , 2007 , it was announced in a press conference that the Gladiators would be relocating to Cleveland , Ohio . This would be the second arena football team to play be in the Cleveland area ; the Cleveland Thunderbolts played at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield , Ohio for three seasons from 1992 – 1994 . Former Cleveland Browns Quarterback Bernie Kosar was announced as the public face of the team , as well as the President of Football Operations and minority owner . The Gladiators would play their home games at Quicken Loans Arena , the home of the NBA ' s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL ' s Lake Erie Monsters . The team also moved back to the Eastern Division of the National Conference for the first time since 2003 . The team would still be known as the Gladiators and continue to retain the team colors of red , silver , and black . On March 3 , the Gladiators played their inaugural game in Quicken Loans Arena , a 61 – 49 win over the New York Dragons . Raymond Philyaw , the team ' s quarterback , was named the offensive player of the game after throwing for five touchdowns . The team ' s first season in Cleveland was a successful one , as they went on to have a winning record of 9 – 7 . On June 21 , the Gladiators clinched a playoff berth with a 47 – 35 win against the Columbus Destroyers as well as home field advantage for the first round . Cleveland won its first playoff game in 10 years with a 69 – 66 win over the Orlando Predators . Raymond Philyaw threw for 436 yards ( the second - most yards in AFL postseason history ) and eight touchdowns , receiver Robert Redd caught a franchise best 204 yards and four touchdowns , and Brandon Hefflin had two interceptions and recovered a key fumble late in the game to seal the victory . The following week , the Gladiators advanced to their first conference championship game in team history when they beat the Georgia Force in the divisional round 73 – 70 . Raymond Philyaw had eight touchdown passes and Robert Redd and Otis Amey each caught three touchdowns in the win . The 61 points scored by both teams in the second quarter was also an AFL record for combined points in a quarter . The Gladiators then traveled to Philadelphia to face the Soul in the National Conference Championship game . Unfortunately , their season ended one game short of the Arena Bowl with a tough 70 – 35 loss . 2009 : AFL Suspends Operations . The National Conference Championship would be the Gladiators ' last game for almost two years . The Arena Football League canceled its 2009 season and it seemed that operations would be suspended indefinitely . However , the league reorganized as Arena Football 1 before purchasing the assets of the Arena Football League , therefore assuming the AFL ' s history , and the Gladiators were revived for the 2010 season , with owner Jim Ferraro and Bernie Kosar returning as team president and Quicken Loans Arena continuing to act as the team ' s home field . On December 23 , 2009 , former Grand Rapids Rampage coach Steve Thonn was named as new head coach of the Gladiators . Soon after , Arena Football 1 decided to re - adopt the Arena Football League name . 2010 season . During their first season in two years , the Gladiators hovered around . 500 for the majority of the time . Highlights of the season included blowout victories over the Utah Blaze and the Iowa Barnstormers , but there were also some close losses attributed to poor special teams play . On July 17 , during their 15th game of the season , the Gladiators were officially eliminated from playoff contention when their division rivals the Milwaukee Iron defeated the Orlando Predators . The Gladiators finished their 2010 campaign with a 7 – 9 record . 2011 season . The Gladiators returned in 2011 with Steve Thonn once again serving as head coach . John Dutton also returned as the team ' s starting quarterback . The Gladiators started their 2011 campaign successfully , upsetting the Spokane Shock , the defending ArenaBowl Champions , at their own arena . However , this victory was marred by an Achilles ' heel injury to John Dutton in the final minutes , which would ultimately sideline him for the season . Fortunately , the team ' s backup quarterback Kurt Rocco performed well in his first Arena football start as the Gladiators dismantled the Tampa Bay Storm and started off their season with two road victories . In their home opener the following week , Cleveland defeated the Chicago Rush to become 3 - 0 . Wide receiver Troy Bergeron set a Gladiator franchise record with six touchdown catches during the game . Unfortunately , the Gladiators were not able to post their best start in franchise history , losing the next two weeks . Injuries to Rocco during the following weeks led to third - string quarterback and Cleveland - area Case Western University alum Dan Whalen mounting second half comebacks . However , a quarterback competition ensued between Rocco and Whalen as neither was able to perform well enough consistently . The teams stands at 5 - 3 , first place in their division . Radio and TV . The Gladiators radio co - flagship stations are WKNR AM 850 , WWGK AM 1540 , and their website ESPNCleveland . com . Mike Case and former Browns cornerback Hanford Dixon will be in the booth calling the action . On the TV side , there are only two games that will be telecast on the NFL Network otherwise there will be no television broadcasts for the 2011 season .