So far, recorded debts remain unsatisfied in Future Legends case

WINDSOR  —  A purported loan that was supposed to pay off debt involving Future Legends Sports Complex should be mostly in hand and paying off bills, but there is no evidence yet of any bills being paid.

Future Legends managing member Jeff Katofsky reported in bankruptcy-court hearings last month that he had secured a loan that would substantially cover the debt within the bankruptcy, which is only for the dome property at the complex. The remainder of the complex remains unfinished, with complaints for nonpayment of work piling up in the last two years. In all, Future Legends, and the seven limited liability companies created as its ownership structure, is facing claims of up to $56 million in lawsuits, and more than $17 million in liens filed against the property.

Katofsky’s attorneys filed a detailed list of creditors on the Future Legends 5 bankruptcy which shows more than $13 million in bills attached to the dome, including unpaid daily operating bills including: $60,000 owed to the Town of Windsor for water; $80,000 to Xcel Energy; $35,000 for trash service; $20,000 for internet; $40,000 for cleaning; and $191,810 in unpaid taxes to Weld County. Future Legends 5 LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall after a Weld District Court Judge appointed a receiver to take over two arenas as well as the dome property, which was the only moneymaker on site. The dome has apparently made money with youth sports programs that are housed there; the most recent loan was contingent upon the dome’s steady income, Katofsky has said in court hearings.

The Future Legends Sports Complex ended 2024 with millions of unpaid liens, and a slew of unpaid 2023 taxes, which were sold at auction in a Weld County Tax Lien sale in October. The taxes are assessed on multiple parts of the unfinished 118-acre complex in Windsor.

Much of Future Legends’ taxes have been paid for 2023, but there remains an outstanding balance on 24 different taxing entities totaling $1.22 million.

Future Legends did pay close to $750,000 to satisfy much of its 2023 tax burden on Nov. 7, 2024, according to county records, but there remains the balance going into 2025, which is no less forgiving, with almost $1.2 million due for the 2024 tax year.

The tax lien sale is one of many notations for liens still marked unpaid in Weld County’s Clerk and Recorder. In fact, a new lien was added Jan. 10 for $36,467 from Herc Rentals Inc. out of Englewood for unpaid bills associated with rental equipment and labor.

In bankruptcy court hearings last month, Katofsky reported that he had received a substantial loan that would help him clear up the debt on the property by the end of February, the first two tranches of which should now be in hand. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Hilary Barnes ordered the purported lender, Phoenix Capital Solutions, to comply with a subpoena to produce documentation of the loan with in 14 days of that Jan. 22 hearing. There is no notation in the court file that that subpoena was ever complied with, much less documentation filed with the bankruptcy court.

There also is no record yet of any of the existing more than $17 million in liens against Future Legends property being paid, at least noted in the Weld County Clerk and Recorder records. When liens are satisfied, they are accompanied with a release document, which have yet to show up on record.

In all, the 2023 assessments on the sports complex were put up for sale in October, and most were sold online to two buyers: ATCF II Colorado-A LLC, formerly Alterna Tax Certificate Fund LP in Florida, and Certain Capital Investments, which is not registered as a business in Colorado.

Tax-lien buyers, however, are just lienholders — investors — at this point. They paid the taxes and interest to date, and they will get to recoup their initial cost plus 15% interest when and if Future Legends pays in full. Future Legends will have three years to pay their taxes, plus the interest that has accrued. If Future Legends does not satisfy those liens in the three years, the game changes, and the lienholders can apply to take the property.

“That is not normally how this plays out,” said Weld County Treasurer Bridgett Grimm. “Normally, property owners end up redeeming the property, it wipes out the lien, the investor has been paid, the lien is removed, and we start over again with the next year.”

Prior to this new system, deed auctions came off like government takings, Grimm explained.

But, under a new process that began this year from legislation in 2024, if lienholders want to redeem the property, they can apply like before, but proceeds over the liens are given back to the property owner.

“The lienholder now must apply for that property to go to auction. Now, it is like a fair-market-value auction. Now, the property owner, who has not been able to pay taxes for three years, will actually get the overbid money.” But the property will be turned over to whoever buys it at auction.

Given Future Legends’ attempt to pay some of its tax burden in 2024, it seems likely that owners will try to stay current, but 2024 tax notices just went out, with payment due dates in June. If those bills aren’t paid, they will be notified in July of the delinquency and if they remain unpaid, they will again go to public sale in October.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Appeals Court judge in Denver granted Katofsky and his attorneys’ request to remove their appeal of a $7 million judgment in Utah District Court against Future Legends Sports Complex. The judgment was for nonpayment of a $7 million loan from Onsent Financial Inc. Katofsky did not return an email seeking comment on this story as of deadline.

Case No. 24-51031, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, In re: Future Legends 5 LLC, in United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada, filed Oct. 15, 2024.

Case No. 2:24-CV-133-DBB, Onset Financial Inc. v. Future Legends LLC, Katofsky family Trust and Jeff Katofsky, filed Feb. 22, 2024 in Utah’s 3rd District Court. The appeal, in U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Case No. 24-4120, was dismissed based on Future Legends’ request.

Case No., 2023CV030946, Coloscapes Concrete Inc et al v. Jaco General Contractor Inc et al, filed Nov. 22, 2023 in Weld District Court. Combined with case Nos. 2024CV30033 and 2024CV30470 also filed in Weld District Court. (US Eagle Federal Credit Union files cross-claim for $45 million; judge places Future Legends Sports Complex structures in receivership). Closed.

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