Judge grants Legacy Park's request to a 24-hour extension to present a sale bid
A federal bankruptcy court judge has given Legacy Park's lawyers another 24 hours to find a qualified bidder for the troubled Mesa sports park.
The last-minute Hail Mary move is an attempt to avert selling off the company's assets for pennies on the dollar.
Henk Taylor, a legal representative for Legacy Cares, the nonprofit owner of the park, told U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Daniel Collins that the team had been working closely with a potential buyer and could be ready to bring the court a credible buyer on Thursday.
The Oct. 5 auction for the park was canceled because no qualified bidder had stepped up. The deadline for a sale hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, according to the timeline the court approved.
“I cannot report to the court that we have a deal,” Taylor said and asked Collins to give the park's team and the potential buyer 24 hours to “clear the hurdles.”
None of the other parties involved in the case opposed the one-day extension including the landlord's, bank's and the committee of uninsured creditors' legal representatives.
The potential buyer was not named in court but it was said will bring “a lot of confidence back to the park.”
Jordon Kroop, the lawyer for creditors, filed a motion last month to change the bankruptcy case to a liquidation sale.
In court, Kroop said the committee had no opposition to the 24-hour pause but was cautiously optimistic that there is a “very small possibility of a miracle.”
“If in 24 hours this miracle comes to fruition, we are enthusiastically in support of that,” Kroop said.
Catch up: Legacy Park auction canceled; liquidation proposed. Here's what's next for Mesa facility
Legacy Park on Tuesday used the last of the $9 million in funding UMB Bank approved to keep the park open throughout the bankruptcy case, according to court testimony. However, it will need additional funding to keep the park open past Oct. 31 to get the sale deal to close. Where and from whom that money will come from was not disclosed.
Keith Bierman, the park’s financial manager, told the judge that the park is “operating fine,” however there have been cancellations of tournaments and events and that sports directors are nervous about the future of their clubs.
The court will be back in session Thursday at 1:30 p.m. where Legacy Park lawyers will present the qualified bidder to the judge.
If the two parties are unable to come to an agreement, the judge will hear discussion on the motion to convert the case under Chapter 7 of the code.
That would change the aim of the bankruptcy case. Rather than an orderly reorganization and continued operation, the court would aim to extract as much cash as possible out of the facility, potentially selling off equipment to pay off the park's debts.
Judge Collins also scheduled a hearing for Oct. 26 to hear a motion to send the claims from Wholesale Floors, LLC and Hayden Companies, LLC against Legacy Cares back to state court.
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.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa's Legacy Park lawyers could present a "qualified bidder" in 24 hours
