DULUTH - Gwinnett Gladiators General Manager and Vice President of Business Operations Joe Gelderman announced Wednesday that the Gwinnett Gladiators will officially change their franchise name to the Atlanta Gladiators effective immediately.
“We are very excited to announce that our name will transform to the Atlanta Gladiators with the 2015-2016 season,” said Gelderman. “We already consider ourselves to be part of the Atlanta sports landscape. Given the absence of NHL hockey in the area we want to make sure people understand that we are not just Gwinnett's hockey team, we are the professional hockey team for all of the metro Atlanta community.
“We hope that incorporating 'Atlanta' into our name will allow more fans to identify with us, and will inspire people from all over the metro area to continue to support and embrace our organization. This was not a decision we made lightly, and in doing so we made sure to consult with a cross section of our fan base, as well as some of our corporate partners. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly in support of making this adjustment.”
The minor league franchise, an affliate of the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins, has been known as the Gwinnett Gladiators since it relocated to metro Atlanta from Mobile in 2003.
To correspond with Wednesday’s announcement, single game tickets for the 2015-2016 season are now available for purchase.
The Atlanta Gladiators are set to drop the puck on their 13th season at The Arena at Infinite Energy Center in October. For ticket information, visit the official team website at www.atlantagladiators.com or call the main office line at 770-497-5100.
For all the latest team news, contests, and more visit AtlantaGladiators.com, or “like” the Gladiators on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlantaGladiators), follow the team on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ATLGladiators), Instagram (www.instagram.com/atlgladiators) or Snapchat (www.snapchat.com) at "gladshockey".
