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The Arena Football League, which produced players like Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and includes team owners such as rock star Jon Bon Jovi, will shut down for 2009 to reorganize.

The 22-year-old league, whose 16 teams play indoor football on a 50-yard field, said in a press release that the move is “subject to agreement and cooperation with” the league’s players’ association.

“Every owner in the AFL is strongly committed to the league, the game and, most importantly, the fans,” Ed Policy, acting commissioner, said in a statement. “Owners, however, recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL as a business enterprise needs to be restructured.”

The decision to suspend the 2009 season was made during a conference call last night. Columbus Destroyers co-owner Jim Renacci was asked by the league’s board of directors to head the restructuring process.

James Foster founded the Arena League after watching an indoor soccer game at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1981, according to a history on the Georgia Force’s Web site. Four teams played the inaugural 1987 season.

The National Football League purchased equity in the AFL in 1999 and the arena league grew to a record 17 teams in the next year. Owners included Bon Jovi, former NFL quarterbacks Ron Jaworski and John Elway, along with Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo.

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson in October announced that he was closing his Voodoo AFL team, citing “circumstances currently affecting the league and the team.”

“These are trying economic times,” said Bon Jovi, co- owner of the ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul. “The revamping will ensure that the AFL continues to provide value to its fans and not only survives but thrives in years to come.”

(Source: Bloomberg)