Legacy Cares, Inc, the owner of the previously-named Bell Bank Park, has filed for bankruptcy, owing nearly $377m to over 200 creditors. Only sixteen months since the park opened, the owners have contracted with investment banker Miller Buckfire & Co to facilitate the sale of the 320 acre indoor-outdoor facility.
“Legacy Cares’ goal is to preserve this landmark facility so it can continue to serve the community for many years to come. Legacy Cares intends to use this process to protect and support the Park’s business operations and address Legacy Cares’ debt obligations while working towards an orderly and efficient possible sale of Legacy Cares’ assets in a manner that maximizes their value.” said Douglas Moss, President of Legacy Cares, Inc.
While entering Chapter 11, the park will continue to be open and operate in the normal course of business, with hundreds of events contractually scheduled to take place through 2030.
Legacy Park surpassed more than 4.3 million visitors in 2022 and in addition to numerous sporting events, has hosted dozens of concerts, festivals, and family friendly community events with over 1.9 million visitors to date in 2023.
Legacy Park is a 320-acre sports park facility and entertainment complex located at the intersection of State Route 24 and Ellsworth Road, in Mesa, Arizona. Legacy Park features, among several other amenities, 8 baseball and softball fields; 19 basketball courts; 35 soccer, football & lacrosse fields; 57 indoor volleyball courts; and 41 pickleball courts, in addition to 25 acres of festival space, a 2.7-acre Great Lawn, 3,000 seat outdoor stadium and 2,800 seat indoor arena. They will all remain open throughout the reorganization and beyond.
Legacy Cares said in a press release that they hope to complete the sale of the property in August, though they did not identify a potential buyer.
The park also hired veteran sports venue manager Rodney Reese as its VP of Park Operations to oversee the day-to-day management of Legacy Park. Rodney helped launch Legacy Park and has more than 20 years of experience in venue management and business development across multiple sports and entertainment facilities. Elite Sports Group, recently hired by Legacy Cares to replace Legacy Sports, USA to manage Legacy Park, will report to Reese.
