The last goal has been scored and the last passes are about to be thrown at the New Haven Coliseum. In recent years, New Haven's aging arena has hosted plenty of sports, but never posted a profit.

"What you see is an almost inverse relationship," New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said. "It's like the more you do, the less money you make."

The problem is arenas make most of their money from rock concerts and most of those go to the Meadows in Hartford and Oakdale in Wallingford. The mayor and an accounting firm hired by the city put up the numbers this morning. It will cost an estimated $50 million to keep the venue running for the next ten years, and tearing it down would be a lot cheaper.

"The bottom line is, the closing of the coliseum would have a minimal - very minimal - impact on the new Haven economy," said John Schuyler of Scilia, Dowling & Natarelli.

But it would impact events like the businesses expo. The last one was a success, but the next one is scheduled for October 2nd, a month after the Coliseum will close.

"What's another month in the program," said Marc Sherer, president of Event Management. "They've been losing money for years and months. One more month to speak to the business community and give the business community one last show here would be greatly appreciated."

The coliseum will keep its doors open for events scheduled before September.

"During this time, we will initiate discussions with the state about demolition resources and reflect about how we're going to get that done, and try to bring the building down as soon as possible after September 1," DeStefano said.

It's not clear yet what would replace the coliseum. Talk has centered on plans ranging from a home for the Long Wharf Theatre to a community college.