Beginning with the 2015 season, Champions Indoor Football added the Duke City Gladiators as an expansion team.

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 D. Roosevelt to grant Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds for the construction of fairground buildings in the middle of Albuquerque, of which Tingley Coliseum would be the center.

Tingley Coliseum is used for a myriad of civic gatherings, beyond the State Fair, including concerts, sporting events, and ice shows.

Entertainers who have appeared at Tingley include Journey,[6] Ike & Tina Turner,[6] Garth Brooks, Shakira, WWE, UFC, The Kinks, Mötley Crüe, Ronnie James Dio, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Janet Jackson, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neil Young, Pearl Jam (1998), AC/DC, Iron Maiden (1982), Metallica, KISS, Bob Dylan, Gloria Estefan, Jay-Z, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Tool, Rush, Aerosmith, James Brown, Elton John, Tower of Power (1977), Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Fleetwood Mac (1979), Eric Clapton, No Doubt, Bon Jovi, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Chris Brown, Earth, Wind and Fire, For King & Country, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eric Church, Prince (1997), Olivia Newton-John, Robert Palmer (1988), Billy Joel (1979), Lionel Richie (1984), Eddie Murphy (1987), David Cassidy (1971) and Elvis Presley (1972) among others.

The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) held one of their signature Premier Series events, the Ty Murray Invitational, annually, from 1997 through 2008 at Tingley Coliseum.