Head of Mesa's Legacy Park steps down to move forward the sale of the 'challenged asset'

In hopes of smoothing the sale process of the struggling Mesa sports facility Legacy Park, the park's president, Doug Moss, resigned Thursday.

The move was intended, in part, to quell the government’s concerns about his competence.

The U.S. Trustee, the agency tasked with overseeing bankruptcy cases, had objected to Moss staying at the helm of Legacy Cares in part because of his ties to Randy Miller, the man who conceived of the sports facility and who helped run it into insolvency.

The park, despite drawing large numbers of athletes and families on weekends, has failed to turn a profit since opening in January 2022. It is losing around $1 million a month, its managers have said in bankruptcy court. It filed for bankruptcy and, according to testimony, will sell to new owners for a fraction of its debt load.

Miller converted one of his many businesses, Legacy Cares, into a non-profit organization in order to take advantage of cheaper financing afforded by running the deal through the Arizona Industrial Development Authority. That Authority approved issuing bonds whose proceeds were tax-exempt for investors and offered a lower interest rate.

Around the time the $300 million in bonds were approved in 2020, Miller stepped away from the non-profit Legacy Cares. Moss took over as chief executive officer. Miller stayed on as head of Legacy Sports, a business that the non-profit contracted to run the park.

Miller, in an interview with The Republic, said that he liked the word "legacy," explaining why it was affixed to so many of the companies he had started over the years.

Legacy Sports was terminated as the operator of the park just before the bankruptcy case was filed. A new operator, Elite Sports Group, took over. That company was headed by Brett Miller, son of Randy Miller, which prompted concerns by the U.S. Trustee that Randy Miller was still running the park.

Brett Miller took the stand on Thursday and asserted that his father was not involved in the management of Legacy Park at all.

Moss's departure took effect at noon on Thursday, about 90 minutes before the hearing at which it was announced.

Moss’s attorney confirmed that there were no financial triggers or “golden parachutes” attached to his departure as president of the sports facility.

Before heading Legacy Cares, Moss had served as president of the National Hockey League franchise the Phoenix Coyotes.

Moss’s resignation did not satisfy the U.S. Trustee’s office, an attorney for the agency told the court on Thursday.

Jennifer Giaimo, an attorney for the U.S. Trustee, said on Thursday that the concerns about mismanagement were not isolated to Moss, but the entire team of professionals in charge of Legacy Cares.

The legal representatives for Legacy Cares will file the formal motion next week to replace Moss with Rodney Reese, who had served as vice president of the park's operations. Keith B. Bierman, a finance advisor retained by the non-profit, would become the chief revenue officer.

Judge Daniel Collins again refused Thursday to grant the U.S. Trustee's request to appoint an independent overseer for the facility.

What's next for Legacy Park?

Court will be back in session Wednesday to review the bidding procedures of the sale and appointment of Bierman as the chief revenue officer.

The Legacy Park team is working on short deadlines before the funding to keep the doors open at the sports facility runs out in October.

James Doak, the head of Miller Buckfire, the firm in charge of overseeing the sales procedure, told the judge there have been several visits with potential buyers at the park and some have signed informal non-binding interest letters.

Judge: Owners keep running bankrupt Legacy Park but smells 'smoke' in operation

The team is looking towards a bid date in late September although deadlines may be revised. Doak said the tight deadlines “create decisions and activity” for the buyer pool. The deadlines are “workable, not comfortable,” he said.

Doak said his firm pulled together a list of 100 potential buyers that included financial strategic buyers and entities that operate similar parks.

UMB Bank had agreed to provide $9 million more in funds to keep the park operating. With the park continuing to lose $1 million a month — a figure that was confirmed by Moss in testimony to the judge on Thursday — those funds will run out by the end of October.

Doak said it was important that Legacy Park keep operating in order to get the most money at a sale. If the park were to cease operations prior to a sale,  then “we’re in a very different value ZIP code” Doak said. He also called Legacy Park a “challenged asset” because it’s a startup that has not yet achieved profitability.

The sale has other complicating factors.

There’s the question about the money owed to the contractors who built the park. Those mechanics' liens amount to at least $30 million.

Another company, OVG Facilities, filed a notice on Thursday asserting its ownership of equipment inside the park.

OVG's complaint with the bankruptcy court asked for “further relief” and “turnover” of its assets inside Legacy Park that includes food trucks, entertainment trailers and kitchen equipment.

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa and Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.

Reach the reporter at richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-8473. Follow the reporter on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ruelaswritings.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa's Legacy Park President Doug Moss resigns