Recession takes toll on sports

By traditional measures, 2009 was a good year for sports in the Los Angeles area, with the Lakers earning another championship and seven of the region's nine major-league teams winning more games than they lost. Kevin Modedsti in the Daily News.

On the financial scoreboard, though, last year marked the end of a long winning streak for the Southern California sports industry.

A report released Monday shows an 18 percent decline in revenue from sports-related activities in 2009 compared with a study conducted two years earlier, said the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Sports Council.