Gladiators under new ownership; team exploring options for home games, including RR

RIO RANCHO — They may not be known as the Gladiators, and they might not even be playing all their home games at the Rio Rancho Events Center, but there will be a Metro-area team playing in the Indoor Football League next season — and still providing “affordable family fun.”

The Duke City Gladiators, who played the 2021-24 IIFL seasons in the Rio Rancho Events Center, have a new owner.

The team, owned previously by Gina Prieskom-Thomas, went on hiatus this season. In early January, Prieskom-Thomas, who owned the team with her late husband Scott since 2019, sold the team to a new ownership group.

Michael Fietz and Bob Pitre have officially taken ownership of the team, approved by a unanimous decision from the IFL board of directors, an ownership transfer from Prieskorm-Thomas to Feitz and Pitre was approved immediately.

“We’re weighing all options right now,” said Feitz, a local home builder and land developer, who said he’ll be the interim general manager. Although his background is in banking and real estate, “This is an entertainment business as much as it is football.

“Refer to me as interim general manager; we’ll hire some professionals to do that as we move forward,” he added. “The focus (now) is what brand; what name are we going to play under and where are we going to play?”

Pitre owns the area’s Pitre auto dealerships.

“We’re looking at the opportunity to do some rebranding (i.e., possible team name change),” said Feitz, “to get teed up and ready to roll.”

Whether they roll in the Events Center or at Tingley Coliseum, the Gladiators’ former home, is to be decided, but Feitz said it’s possible a “spilt-season” could take place, with some games on the west side of the Rio Grande at the Events Center and some on the east side, at Tingley. The team played there in the Champions Indoor Football League from 2015-19, winning two championships in ’18 and ’19.

As for the team’s roster, Feitz said the franchise retained the rights to players on the previous roster, although finding football players looking to extend their careers or for the enjoyable of playing isn’t an impossible task.

“A lot of what our league is about is opportunity,” he said. “I’m confident we’ll be able to put a lot of those players together — a lot of those players would like to be here,” and he didn’t rule out the possibility of having former University of New Mexico and former area high school football stars on the roster.

“We’re real excited to be the new ownership of the team,” said Feitz, no stranger to the state’s sports scene. “We’ve been sports supporters — for all the teams in New Mexico, from UNM to the (Albuquerque) Dukes and Isotopes, the United, the Thunderbirds and the Scorpions. We’re both on the New Mexico Bowl’s board of directors.

“I’ve been very impressed with their impact and ties not only to Albuquerque but the whole state of New Mexico,” said IFL Commissioner Todd Tryon “They both have a long track record of success, and I look forward to that carrying over into the IFL.”

The transition has been a collaborative effort, with the new owners working closely with Prieskorn-Thomas to ensure a smooth handover and a continued commitment to the team’s loyal fans and the Albuquerque community.

Sadly, her husband of 42 years passed away in late December 2024; Prieskom-Thomas has been active in the area as a Realtor.

“(The Gladiators are) something needed for the community … give back to the community,” Feitz said. “Again, the thing for us is making sure that our branding is right and we’re bringing the old fans back into the mix and bringing in a new fan base that, obviously, we’re close to.”