17Dec/089:37 AM

Top 25 Phoenix Sports Stories of 2008 - #15 - Economic downturn hits Valley Sports

By Vince Marotta

Here at Fanster.com, we’ll be spending the last few weeks of 2008 counting down the biggest sports stories in the Valley over the last 12 months.

Everywhere you turned in the second half of 2008, you were bombarded with gloomy news about the economy. Whether it was plunging home values, government bailouts, banks going under or employment layoffs, 2008 has not been a happy time for most in the United States.

The Valley sports scene was not immune. Just earlier this week, the Arena Football League suspended their operations for the 2009 season, meaning the Arizona Rattlers, who have called Phoenix home since 1992 won’t be taking the field. There’s a lot of speculation and rumor right now that the league’s future is very much in doubt, even though AFL acting commissioner Ed Policy has made it clear that they fully plan on re-tooling the operation, and coming back stronger in 2010.

There’s also been a lot of talk about the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL, and their mounting financial problems. Some reports state the Coyotes will lose between $25 million and $35 million this season alone, and Forbes.com listed them as the least valuable NHL franchise, pegging them as one of the ten pro sports teams most likely to move.