Arena Football comes to Cleveland in a big way. On March 3 rd , the Cleveland Gladiators will begin their inaugural season. The franchise relocated from Las Vegas , but kept only three of the original twenty-two team members from the Las Vegas Squad.

Arena Football is divided into four divisions, the AFL Eastern, the AFL Southern, the AFL Western, and the AFL Central Divisions. Seventeen teams make up the four divisions, the AFL Eastern being the only conference with five teams.

Part of the AFL Eastern Division, the Gladiators compete against fellow Ohio team Columbus , Dallas , New York , and Philadelphia . The first game they take on the New York Dragons at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Gladiators' team features a number of experienced players and is led by eight year veteran Quarterback Raymond Philyaw. Philyaw was a splash signing after playing last year with the Kansas City Brigade. His 85 touchdown passes last season ranked him in the top five in the league in that category, and he has the most years in the AFL of any player on the team. Two seven year veterans, wide receiver Cornelius Bonner and defensive end Silas Dimary, and six year man wide receiver Andy McCullough, making three of the four most experienced players offensive weapons. That should bode well for a well rounded passing attack.

That doesn't mean the defense will be second rate, however. Led by defensive-minded head coach Mike Wilpolt, the Gladiators should be strong on both sides of the ball. Wilpolt, in his first head coaching stint, was the defensive coach of the Las Angeles Avengers last year, heading up a unit that ranked fifth in the league for yards rushing allowed and third in the league for yards passing allowed.

He'll need all his defensive magic as he pits his strategies against another defensive genius in New York 's Weylan Harding. Harding finished last year as runner up Coach of the year, and holds the AFL mark of 20 for most wins as a head coach in his first two seasons.

If you've never witnessed Arena Football, the speed of the game is a lot faster than the NFL. It's fast paced, non-stop wall-to-wall excitement, literally, and it's coming to Cleveland . Single game and season tickets are currently on sale.