Arena team running away from creditors

Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 | 10:25 a.m.

Most minor league sports franchises that set up shop in Las Vegas usually don't run into problems until they get here.

But according to their former landlord, the New Jersey Gladiators -- soon to be the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League -- are already running away from a bunch of them.

The Thomas & Mack Center called a news conference for today to announce the troubled News Jersey franchise would be relocating to Las Vegas for the 2003 season. That came as a surprise to the team's prior landlord.

George Zoffinger, executive director of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, said the Gladiators have yet to notify him that they are moving.

Zoffinger said the Gladiators owe the Sports Authority $114,000.

"I haven't heard a thing," Zoffinger said. "I've been trying to reach them for two days. Not a phone call, nothing. This is not a professional operation."

Zoffinger said the Sports Authority did not charge the Gladiators rent at Continental Airlines Arena until this year, when the team was scheduled to pay $5,000 per game for use of the building beginning in spring.

Asked about the Authority's relationship with the Gladiators until now, he said there were no major issues.

"As long as they didn't have to pay rent, they were fine," he said.

The Gladiators struggled at the box office, averaging 5,700 per game. But according to Zoffinger and others, the team was still selling season tickets as recently as last week.

"If it's up to this owner, I don't know if I'll ever see my money back," Gladiators season-ticket holder Bruce DiBisceglie told the Newark Star-Ledger. "There has to be a law against a businessman selling a product with no intent of actually giving that product to the customer."

The Gladiators are owned by James Ferraro, a Miami-based personal injury attorney. Calls placed to his office were not returned.

Repeated phone calls left this week at the Gladitors office also were not returned. A spokesman for the Thomas & Mack said the arena would not comment on the Gladiators' situation until after today's news conference.

But Zoffinger had plenty to say. He indicated the Sports Authority would sue to recover the money it could have made on concerts on nights it reserved for the Gladiators.

"The sport didn't work here because there are a lot of pro sports teams in the market," he said. "As long as they live up to the terms of their contract, I'll wish them well and pack their boxes for them."

But it would appear too late for that. Charles Rizzo, who owns a printing company in Flemington, N.J., told the Star-Ledger he went to the Gladiators office in hopes of collecting nearly $4,000 the team owes him.

"The place was empty except for a couple of guys," Rizzo said. "They said the moving vans had already gone to the office. It was like the Baltimore Colts, except it's Jim Ferraro instead of (Robert) Irsay."