At the box office, the 'Sharks record was mixed: they did manage higher-than-league average crowds at America West Arena in three of its four seasons, but still only drew 5,331 fans per match.
In 1995, a brawl broke out at a game between the Sandsharks and the visiting Portland Pride, and Arizona's Franklin McIntosh continued the melee into the parking lot.
This proved to be the breaking point (literally) for Colangelo, who after years of financial losses sought to sell the team.
Buyers were found in Kerry Dunne and Brian Weymouth, but the sale was completed just before the 1996 season, so the new owners chose to suspend operations for a year.
After another awful season in 1997, though, the Sandsharks withdrew from the CISL; the club was then reorganized and renamed the Arizona Thunder, entering the Premier Soccer Alliance in 1998.