Cash-strapped league voted to suspend 2009 season.

Arena football only just recently came back to Northeast Ohio, with the premiere of the Cleveland Gladiators in 2008, but it appears that its return may have been short-lived. Sunday evening, the Arena Football League announced that they were suspending the entire 2009 season.

Acting AFL commissioner Ed Policy said in a statement:

“Owners … recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport."

The future of the AFL had been questionable throughout the league's off-season. The league hadn't released a schedule for the 2009 season, and delayed the start of free agency and the dispersal draft for the New Orleans VooDoo, which folded in October.

Speculation only intensified in recent weeks as it became obvious that the $100 million deal that the AFL had struck with Platinum Equity LLC in October was in limbo. The deal was supposed to have been completed in November, and would have given the cash-strapped league a badly needed infusion of capital. It would have also allowed Platinum to operate the league as a single entity.

But with the deal in flux, it was rumored that several owners wanted to suspend the 2009 season to explore other financial options or find another investor. League owners voted on Sunday to suspend the 2009 season once and for all.

The future of the 22-year-old league, however, still remains unclear. Will they be able to secure financing to keep it going? No one knows, but one thing's for certain, in this kind of financial market it is not going to be easy.