One of the x-factors for downtown is the performance of its two main sports teams, the Diamondbacks and Suns. When the teams are playing well, attendance at their respective events surges and downtown becomes that much more alive. (Granted, the two stadiums do a lousy job of interacting with the rest of downtown, but while the spillover from downtown sporting events could be better, there is no doubt that the streets are more alive and downtown businesses profit. Hopefully the presence of light rail will enhance the sports spillover even further.)
But as of late April 2009, things are pretty quiet on the downtown sports scene. The Suns missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004, costing downtown establishments as much as $200,000 per game in lost revenue, and the Diamondbacks are off to a bad start with their punchless offense.
The prognosis for the two teams seem very different: the aging Suns ought to tear up the team while there is still some trade value in their older players— hanging on to some of the younger guys who hustle on defense as well as offense such as Jared Dudley (above)— while the Diamondbacks have to be patient with a team that’s still very young and wait for the talent that showed itself in 2006 to return.
Here’s hoping that the two teams can turn things around quickly. It’s great for all of Phoenix and especially downtown when the Suns and D-backs are title contenders as they both were just a couple years ago. And I shudder to think how far we’ve fallen if our best hope for a championship in Phoenix is…the Cardinals?
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