I remember this mall in the early/mid 90s being pretty cool; it wasn't on par with PV or Fashion Square, but it was still a pretty fun place to go shopping or hang out with friends...Then came the early 2000s when the clientele clearly began to change. All you had to do was drive by the Harkin's Theater and observe the thugs/wannabe gangsters hanging out with their pregnant teen girlfriends. I can still clearly remember the first time I went and did not feel safe walking past some of the groups hanging out outside. Paying customers like myself and my family were scared off, and shortly after this mall really tanked.
It's pretty sad, because I think a lot of people would still like to shop there. It's in a convenient location off the i-17, some of the surrounding retail stores are relatively new and nice, and there is still a lot of nostalgia amongst Arizona natives for this mall.
I highly doubt Metrocenter can be resurrected, but I also couldn't have predicted it's relatively swift decay.