The economic upheaval has hit the 16th Street Mall’s ESPN Zone, which closed suddenly Monday, leaving 100 employees jobless. The 23,000-square-foot hangout for sports fans, one of nine in a chain of theme restaurants filled with large televisions, was simply unable to survive the recession, according to Rick Allesandri, an ESPN vice president. “Unfortunately, the current economic environment offered us no other choice,” he says (via the Denver Business Journal).

Employees received 60 days’ worth of pay. The ESPN Zone had been located at the Tabor Center since 2001, notes 7News, which quotes owners Callahan Capital Partners as saying the center remains home to many other restaurants and will soon house the Colorado Athletic Club’s new 39,000-square-foot facility, with a balcony that overlooks Writer Square.

As for ESPN Zone, the Celtic-themed Tilted Kilt will take over the first floor of its space, according to the Denver Daily News.