Sports $$ take dip

L.A.-area sporting event revenues fell 18 percent in 2009 compared with two years earlier, as attendance declined and ticket prices fell. All told, direct revenue totaled $1.7 billion, down from $2.1 billion in 2007, according to a study sponsored by the L.A. Sports Council and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. There is no team-by-team breakout, so the results are not all that useful. Still, they do point to the impact of the recession on sporting events.