Cleveland Gladiators & Cleveland Monsters - Cleveland Article

In 2008, the Gladiators won their first playoff game in a decade and advanced to the National Conference Championship game. In 2011, the Gladiators again earned a postseason berth, but fell in the first round of the AFL Playoffs.

The Gladiators began the 2014 season with nine consecutive wins before setting an AFL regular-season record with 17 victories in 18 games played. Cleveland clinched the East Division Championship and were the American Conferences top-seed entering the 2014 AFL Playoffs. Winners in each of their first two 2014 playoff games, the
Gladiators hosted ArenaBowl XXVII at Quicken Loans Arena, but were defeated by the Arizona Rattlers.

In 2015, the Gladiators returned to the postseason for the fourth time in franchise history, but ultimately
fell to the Philadelphia Soul in the opening round. Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers,
acquired the Cleveland Gladiators in 2012 and the team is now under the ownership umbrella of the Cavaliers Operating Company, LLC.

The Gladiators pride themselves on player accessibility, including free postgame autographs on the field, the opportunity to kick field goals on the field following every game, and the ability for fans to keep any game balls that enter the stands. The action-packed AFL season runs from March through July - for tickets and more information, visit clevelandgladiators.com or call 216-420-2222.

Lake Erie Monsters

Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters are currently in the midst of their ninth season in the American Hockey League (AHL), the primary development league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters spent eight
seasons as the top affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, starting with Lake Erie’s inaugural campaign in 2007-08, before launching a new affiliation with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the 2015-16 season.

Members of the AHL’s Central Division and Western Conference, the Monsters’ lone postseason appearance came on the heels of the 2010-11 season, and saw Lake Erie fall in the first round of the AHL’s Calder Cup
Playoffs.