Tough times for sports: say it ain't so, Joe: the recession's hitting the sports business.

• Author: Schley, Stewart
• Position: SPORTS [biz]

That wasn't supposed to happen. During previous downturns, the sports industry generally emerged unharmed as an anxious populace turned to sports for escape and diversion.

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But team owners are preparing for trouble as corporate patrons balk at expensive luxury suites and fans waffle over season-ticket renewals. The bad times have even carved into the earnings of Tiger Woods. General Motors Corp. ended its endorsement deal with the popular golfer as the automaker attempts to maintain solvency.

More surprising: layoffs within the National Basketball Association. The NBA in October released 80 employees, about 9 percent of its staff, and the Charlotte Bobcats laid off 35 employees.

Even the richest team in baseball is feeling the pinch.

"Bombers' suites go sour amid bad economy," read a Nov. 12 headline in the New York Post, reciting troubles the New York Yankees have had in selling out $600,000 luxury suites at the team's new stadium.

Baseball, which has sold more than 78 million tickets annually for the last few seasons, is aware of what's going on. "There used to be a theory ... that we seemed almost to be recession proof," Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said last month at a conference presented by Reuters. "This is different, clearly, and so we're going to be very sensitive."

Signs of sensitivity: The Colorado Rockies put a freeze on season-ticket prices in November. The Boston Red Sox won't raise ticket prices this year for the first time in 14 years. In Oakland, the A's spent big to sign former Rockies slugger Matt Holliday, but the team trimmed average ticket prices 5 percent going into the 2009 season.

What the teams seem to realize is that, contrary to past downturns, this one's apt to sting. A big reason is that sports teams have jacked up ticket prices to a level that now seems out of whack with real-life finances. When tickets were relatively inexpensive, it was easier for the sports industry at large to delude itself with the notion of being "recession-resistant." Now, with their rising dependence on corporate sponsors and high-priced luxury suites, teams are more vulnerable to broader economic pressures.

In Colorado, the recession may have its most immediate impact on the ski industry. A report by Boulder consulting firm RRC Associates for...