Tingley Coliseum is an 11,571-seat multi-purpose arena in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Originally built as a rodeo and horse show auditorium, it is located at 300 San Pedro Drive N.E.From 1996 to 2005, it was home to the New Mexico Scorpions ice hockey team (since relocated to the new Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico). It was most recently home to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League, until their move to the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho in 2010. Tingley Coliseum contains 9,286 permanent seats.Beginning with the 2015 season, the arena is the home of the expansion Duke City Gladiators of the Champions Indoor Football league.HistoryIn 1916, the New Mexico State Fair was not held due to financial difficulties and the lack of a suitable location. Many held out hope, but the State Fair was canceled every year for over two decades.It was the end of the State Fair until, in 1937, a group of New Mexico businessmen led by Governor Clyde Tingley convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to grant Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds for construction of fairground buildings in the middle of Albuquerque, of which Tingley Coliseum would be the center.