Saturday, June 9, 2007 | 7:34 a.m.
What: Nashville Kats at Las Vegas Gladiators
Where: Orleans Arena
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $15-$80; www.orleansarena.com
Info: www.lvgladiators.com
With three games remaining in the season, the Las Vegas Gladiators have won only two of 13 games, their head coach and his staff already have been told they will be let go at season's end and fans aren't showing up at the Orleans Arena .
Even team President and General Manager Sam Jankovich, a veteran football administrator who never has been one to shy away from a challenge, admits he may have underestimated what he was in for when he took the position in August.
After 10 months on the job, Jankovich said the local Arena Football League franchise has made strides in ticketing, sponsorship and promotion, but there is room for improvement.
"Do I think we're much better off today than the day I arrived? Definitely, yes," he said. "Do I think there's room for considerable improvement in all areas? Definitely, yes.
"Do I think it will happen? It better happen, or there's some problems."
Aside from the business aspects, there also is the matter of improving the product on the field, which Jankovich acknowledged has a direct impact on what the organization is able to do when it reaches out into the business community for sponsorship dollars.
"Anytime you lose and when you play as bad at home as we have, it really creates so many problems in so many areas," he said. Once the team starts winning, Jankovich added, "People who we are calling on will be more receptive."
Although some longtime observers of the Las Vegas sports scene insist that winning is not a sure-fire cure for a team's box-office woes, Jankovich said it took him only a few home games to realize that isn't true.
Jankovich said the Gladiators have lost - conservatively - $500,000 to $600,000 in revenue this year because of the team's poor play. The Gladiators drew an announced crowd of 6,593 to their first home game at the Orleans Arena in March. Last Sunday the announced crowd was only 4,736 for their sixth of eight home games.
"That's a significant drop," Jankovich said. "When you lose that kind of money, there's tremendous pressure on everybody."
Some of the pressure on first-year Gladiators coach Danton Barto may have been relieved when he was informed a month ago that he would be let go at the end of the season, but he said that hasn't affected the way he, his coaches or the players have gone about their business.
"They're professionals," Barto said of his players. "Nobody's out here trying to lose football games and we (coaches) are still trying to help them get better and prepare to be successful.
"Everybody's embarrassed by the record but I haven't noticed that anybody " has given up.
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