Gladiators no more: 'Chupacabras' to Albuquerque, IFL leaves Rio Rancho

RIO RANCHO — After four seasons and five years at the Rio Rancho Events Center, the Duke City Gladiators are packing up shop under a new alias.

The New Mexico Chupacabras, a new identity announced at the Indoor Football League National Championship media day Aug. 22, will return the IFL to New Mexico after a year’s absence.

“This marks the next chapter for Major League Indoor Football in Albuquerque,” said Tim Smith, general manager of Albuquerque Sports Ventures in a statement. “We’re excited to share our team’s new identity, our home, and to introduce the coach who will help lead us into a new era of excellence for our city and our fans. After stepping back for a season, we are back and better than ever.”

The Gladiators announced a year-long dormancy last fall, opting out of the 2025 season. In March, the team’s ownership changed hands to Michael Fietz and Bob Pitre, with the group preparing the franchise to re-enter the league in 2026.

A part of that preparation now includes leaving Rio Rancho without indoor football.

“It was a beautiful arena, it was very favorable for me as a kicker,” former Gladiator Ernesto Lacayo said. “And also just the team itself, and everyone was really welcoming there.”

This is the end of the city’s third stint of hosting an indoor football team. The New Mexico Wildcats played in the AIFL in 2008 and 2009 at the arena, followed by Rio Rancho’s first IFL entity with the New Mexico Stars from 20-16.

Dropping attendance numbers and low retention rates are what reportedly led to the 2025 dormancy, with the franchise seeking to restore those numbers in its return to Tingley Coliseum, where the team played from 2015-19.

“People always mentioned going back downtown. I had never played at the Tingley,” Lacayo said. “But my time there, Rio Rancho was my home, so I enjoyed every second. I love that arena and love the vibe that the fans brought to it.”

Lacayo has played indoor football since 2011, playing for the Gladiators in 2023 and 2024. While the numbers didn’t reflect it, Lacayo states that the Events Center could bring the noise.

“We were having some losing games, but our last game, I’ll never forget our last game there against the Northern Arizona Wranglers. It was great, it was a good crowd, there were so many people,” Lacayo said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, this is what it could be,’ or could have been if it was always packed and it was loud. It was such a game-changer for us.”

The Gladiators won a 69-48 contest over the Wranglers, winning not just the last game of the season but the last game in Rio Rancho and under the Gladiator name.

Lacayo scored 25 of the team’s 69 points, breaking the league record for “deuces” (two-point kicks) in a game.

“That’s something that I’m going to hold dear to my heart. I broke a record in that game, and everyone was there to see it, and it was loud, and we won the game,” Lacayo said. “It was the last game in Rio Rancho, and it was one to remember.”

Cherished memories quickly turned into nightmares for Gladiator players when the team announced it would not be playing in 2025.

“As a player, you never want to be stuck in limbo after a season. I had already recommitted to playing for the Gladiators before they went dormant,” Lacayo said. “So I found out just as soon as everyone else found out. It was unfortunate because I wanted to finish off my career as a Gladiator, but unfortunately, things happened the way they did.”

While you won’t see any pigskin flying around the RREC anytime soon, the arena will still be active with the New Mexico Runners and soon-to-be New Mexico Pro Hockey Club taking residency.

But with their former team just down the street, and a lot of teams using up the space, the chances of indoor football returning to the City of Vision may be slim to none.

“The Arizona teams are all within an hour of each other, and there are three teams in the state. But I’ve never seen two teams within, what, 20 miles from each other?” Lacayo said. “That would be something new. There are different leagues, but the IFL is the premier league, and if Rio Rancho wanted to go that route, the platform and the format are there for them to do it to make a kind of cross-town rivalry.”

The New Mexico Chupacabras will begin playing at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque in 2026.