After plans for Legacy Sports to build a massive sports complex in Murfreesboro fell through, WGNS has learned under the bankruptcy courts, the organization is having trouble selling their 320-acre Legacy Sports Park in Mesa, Arizona. Evidently, a scheduled sale was canceled because of a lack of bidders. Apparently, no one registered to be a part of the auction, which is overseen by the federal U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Originally, the auction was scheduled to take place this past Thursday, October 5, 2023. Court documents from the bankruptcy case for Legacy Cares Inc. show the organization failed to receive any bid satisfying the requirements for a “Qualified Bid” under the Bid Procedures Order. The same documents stated, “Debtor has, however, received submissions from several parties interested in purchasing Legacy Park.” Those interested parties are still working with the company's banker in hopes of securing an offer to present to the courts and property stakeholders.
In 2021, Legacy Sports CEO Chad Miller announced their intention to build a 6,000-seat arena, outdoor amphitheater, basketball courts, a gymnastics center, 57-indoor volleyball courts, baseball fields, football fields and more in Murfreesboro, TN. If plans had not fallen through, the proposed facility would have been similar to their Legacy Sports USA venue in Mesa, Arizona at Bell Bank Park.
The Rutherford County venue was going to be built on land that belongs to the Hord family. The property sits along NW Broad Street at I-840. Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland previously told WGNS around the same time a deal was inked for Legacy Sports, the land was annexed into the city... The annexed farmland on Broad Street currently sits vacant.
The property in Arizona's bankruptcy court was reported to be the largest privately-owned multi-sport complex in America and Legacy Cares, Inc., the company that oversees it, is a nonprofit organization. The previously proposed park in Murfreesboro was going to be modeled after the Arizona venue.
The Arizona park has a 3-thousand seat outdoor stadium and a 2,800-seat indoor arena, in addition to a number of sports features like 57-indoor volleyball courts and 20-basketball courts.
Several months after Legacy Sports announced the January 2022 opening of the sports venue in Arizona, problems began to arise. An October (2022) article in the Arizona Central newspaper suggested Legacy Cares, the owner of Bell Bank Park, was losing an average of $880-thousand monthly.
In the meantime, Legacy Cares told the courts the upcoming mediation of the mechanic lien claimants scheduled for Wednesday, October 11 should remain on schedule, as they work to qualify one or more bids prior to mediation in Arizona.
