The Cleveland Gladiators last played a game on Aug. 14, 2017 -- 73-59 loss to the Tampa Bay Storm in the first round of the Arena Football League's playoffs.
But after going on a two-year hiatus as Quicken Loans Arena -- now known as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse -- underwent renovations, it doesn't appear the Gladiators will be coming back anytime soon, if ever.
After months of speculation, the AFL announced on Wednesday that has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and is fully ceasing its operations. The announcement comes just weeks after it closed the team operations in the six local markets of its current active teams.
While the Gladiators hadn't played in more than two years, the franchise that had been owned by Cleveland Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert had been monitoring the future of the league with its eyes on a potential return. Originally arriving in Cleveland in 2008 after spending stints in Las Vegas (2003-07) and New Jersey (1997-2002), the Gladiators won three division titles and one conference championship in its 21-year history.
The height of the team's existence came in 2014, when the Gladiators won the American Conference and advanced to ArenaBowl XXVII, where they lost to the Arizona Rattlers 72-32.
