Legends in limbo

WINDSOR — Legal troubles are mounting for the developer of the Future Legends Sports Complex, now wrapped up in a host of lawsuits and liens filed against the property for nonpayment of services and work performed.

Future Legends, located on a 100-acre Diamond Valley Sports Complex, was supposed to bring sports teams, tournaments, tourism and business from all over the country to a state-of-the art facility like none other. But not even half-way complete, the project is knee-deep in debt, facing more than $13 million in outstanding liens encumbering the property, and more than $11.3 million in open legal claims in a variety of lawsuits. Owners have also recently narrowly avoided the complex being shut down.

Meanwhile, players use the complex’s pickleball courts. Hundreds of kids use the facilities daily for soccer and must use portable toilets. And teams such as the NoCo Owlz minor league baseball team and Northern Colorado Hailstorm and Northern Colorado Rain minor league soccer teams endure power and lighting issues. The Owlz actually had to cancel their first game in 2023 after three innings because the stadium had no lighting. The primary stadium is still unfinished.

Windsor officials are quick to point out that the town does not have a business relationship with Future Legends owner Jeff Katofsky, though they do have an agreement with them to run some of its recreation programs.

“For us, this whole deal, there’s two aspects, one aspect is the economic development side, the tourist attraction of the minor league sports teams, hotels, commercial, all those things are really positive,” said Shane Hale, Windsor town manager. “But the town board was clear when we first entered into this agreement we also need to maintain recreation facilities for the public. Clearly everyone is aware that there are things going on in the background. I can’t speak to that.

“We’re in constant conversations with (Katofsky) and spoke to him just a couple days ago and he has a plan, a path to get things going again and we’ll see where that goes. We’re obviously monitoring it and watching,” Hale said.

Katofsky returned calls Friday, promising that the project would be completed. He wouldn’t speak to the many lawsuits or financial issues he may be facing.

“We understand what needs to get done,” Katofsky said. “We’ll get it done and everyone will be proud, and we’ll see a lot of smiling kids’ faces, that’s the idea.”

The town of Windsor, however, has only extended the welcome mat for another three months. Officials have spent the last year working with Katofsky to bring the complex up to standards in which they feel are safe for the public. The facility’s temporary occupancy permits are just that. They were due to expire in July. But Windsor planning director Scott Ballstadt said the town opted to give them the extra time to fix the many concerns on the site. The clock is ticking.

Trouble in paradise

The Future Legends Complex was an ambitious project to begin with in 2017. An iteration of the project involving some of the same players was originally called the Rocky Mountain Sports Park, then the Colorado National Sports Park before its name was changed to Future Legends in 2018.

The grand plan was to build two major sports stadiums, 10 baseball diamonds, 12 soccer pitches, a 64-team dorm, an indoor bubble sports arena, lodging, and retail. According to media reports at the time, developers of the park were going to apply for $20 million in funding from the C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing,, but the Board of Weld County Commissioners opted out, sending Katofsky scrambling. To help with infrastructure funding they created metropolitan districts, through which businesses in the district area are taxed to help cover bond funding of projects.

The metro districts’ budgets are growing as assessed value increases. For 2024, the proposed budgets for two of the metro districts together is $232,848; expenses listed are administrative so far, with a projected end balance of $22,667, according to documents filed with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Windsor deeded 50 acres of land at Diamond Valley to help launch the development. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Rural Development Business Programs Division, awarded Future Legends a $13 million Business and Industry Loan Guarantee in 2022. The guarantee gave traditional lenders added confidence that they could move forward with almost no risk to them. If something were to happen to a project, Rural Development could prevent from default on 80% of the loan.

Construction on the project began in 2019, and it took until 2023 to bring activity to the fields.

Today, the complex is a hodgepodge of half-completed construction work, stellar soccer fields, one main baseball diamond called the 4 Rivers Equipment Stadium, with several other baseball diamonds covered in weeds; a scoreboard lies on the ground in one field; there are no functioning lights outside the collegiate stadium or dome, and no operating bathrooms outside of the stadium. The concrete walls to what is supposed to be the main stadium are being held up with boards. The dorms that are supposed to be for visiting teams are half-built with boards covering some windows. There is no visible work being done on the construction side of the project, and construction materials, as well as generators providing power, are scattered throughout the property.

Kids using the big white dome for summer soccer clinics change clothes in portable toilets, which have been on site since opening, as there are no functioning bathrooms there. Contractors say some have used the bathrooms, but there is no running water or functional plumbing. 

For James Walters, founder and executive director of the NoCo Lightning Academy, through which 500 area kids participate in youth soccer leagues, the portable toilets are pretty standard throughout Colorado. “Aside from the porta-potties, the dome is a world-class facility,” Walters said.

Walters said he feels lucky to be able to bring kids to the Future Legends pitch every day.

“Youth soccer is a real estate game; 75% of the battle for clubs like us is to get access to facilities. There are not enough soccer pitches in town. When we see something like the Future Legends Complex, we just ask, ‘How can we get in there?’” Walters said.

“We see what’s happening with construction too. But the reality is, these things have a way of working themselves out. At the end of the day, for our needs, we’re optimistic waiting for the next phases to begin.”

Many, many claims

Claims against Katofsky and Future Legends started filing into Weld District Court and the Weld County Clerk and Recorder in 2021. The complex opened only in 2023 and became the home of NoCo Owlz Baseball, Hailstorm Soccer and NoCo Lightning Academy youth soccer.

The running theme of those claims is similar in every complaint, that Future Legends has not paid for goods and services for work done on the Future Legends complex. In many cases, Future Legends denies the claims and blames the vendor for wrongdoing. In other cases, it’s a waiting game as claimants shuffle through mounds of legal maneuvering of court continuances, failing to find Katofsky to serve him with court papers, and broken promises.

Katofsky is a lawyer, and he will represent himself in some cases. Knowing that, many contacted for this story refused to comment, lest they be sued by Katofsky and make matters worse.

But lawsuits that have been filed in Weld District Court and U.S. District Court are a matter of public record and in some of them, the claimants state that Katofsky has had no intentions of paying for work requisitioned on the complex.

“Katofsky used the Future Legends Entities to perpetuate a fraud or defeat a rightful claim,” according to a lawsuit filed by Harmony Suites LLC, doing business as Cambria Suites, against Katofsky and Future Legends on July 23 in Larimer District Court. Harmony Suites is seeking $76,192 in hotel stays for visiting teams. “Through the use of the Future Legends Entities, Katofsky knowingly took the goods and services without intending to pay,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuits began with his original contractors, and many of the earlier contractors’ lawsuits and liens have been closed and/or satisfied. In all, more than $11.4 million in liens have been released since 2021. But there are also 13 open lawsuits claiming more than $11.3 million in money due, and more than $13 million in liens that have yet to be satisfied.

Tony Carlin has been waiting for about a year to be paid for his electrical work at the complex. The owner of Pinnacle Electric Inc. in Little Rock, Arkansas, said he was proud of the stadium and parking lot lighting he built, and he’d like to finish the job. But at present, he’s got a $4.4 million lien filed on the property.

“Every Friday, it was ‘the check’s in the mail,’” Carlin said. “I waited on payment from these guys, just spending my own money out of my pocket to keep the job going. I put $800,000 of my own money into this project. You don’t recover. You hope for the best with the lawsuits.”

“There’s still another million worth of work to complete,” Carlin said.

In a July 3 lawsuit filed against the Future Legends complex, Onset Financial Inc. sued Katofsky, Future Legends and Katofsky Family Trust in an almost $7 million claim, which was recently removed from Utah District Court to U.S. District Court. In it, Onset has claimed that Katofsky failed to pay all monthly payments on rental equipment.

Katofsky clapped back in a 54-page response stating that Onset Financial miscalculated the amount due, forgetting to take off $3.5 million in payments and a cash deposit from the amount he owed. Onset has stated in court documents that their original claim amount includes taxes and late fees.

In another case, Sport Court of the Rockies LLC of Highlands Ranch had a lien against Katofsky for $467,281 for nonpayment after building the site’s pickleball courts, sand volleyball court, indoor dome flooring and components. The lien was on the books for four months before Katofsky agreed in a March settlement to repay $425,000 in two payments, the first of which was due April 1. He didn’t pay, and by May, the company filed a lawsuit, to which Katofsky’s attorney answered by denying all claims.

Sisu Therapies LLC of Windsor filed a lawsuit in 2023, claiming non-payment of $41,337 in services such as sports medical assisting, athletic training and occupational therapy. Katofsky claims that Sisu breached its contract and didn’t act in good faith.

“Any and all claims by plaintiff were the result of negligent, deliberate, intentional reckless or unfaithful acts or omissions of third parties over which defendants had no control,” Katofsky’s answer to the lawsuit states.

While many companies have large liens, companies such as Rite Hand Construction Inc. of Greeley filed one early in the project for $35,608. The company built three storage buildings on the property and had to fight for payment for every building. 

“I got paid until the third building, which I knew was going to happen,” said Dick Schantz, president of Rite Hand. “He’d string me along, and I’d start the next one without getting paid for the last one, but I needed the money.”

He said he had his crews work overtime to get the buildings done (the third is not finished), and he even agreed to do extra work, for which he said he didn’t get paid. Schantz said he never met Katofsky in person, but his demeanor is not nice. In one email, dated June 23, 2023, in response to Schantz demanding payment, Katofsky wrote:

“I look at this a simple way — we have paid you well in excess of the amount of work that you have done. If you go out and continue to work, you will continue to get paid. I am not going to continue to stay ahead of you when you are not working. You have broken too many promises.

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You can go out, start working, and start getting paid for the work that you do. The other choice is that I can call our legal counsel, and you can call yours, and we can get into a legal battle. I will have another company finish the work, charge you back for it, and you’ll end up writing me a check, or I will put you out of business. It is completely up to you.

“Let’s do this the easy way, go to work and get paid. It’s what I want and what you want. Do not make me make the next phone call.”

Schantz said at this point, he has nothing to lose by speaking up; in fact, he has wondered why it took so long for this issue to go public.

“I’ve worked for Hensel Phelps, which is huge, and no problems at all. I get paid within 30 days,” Schantz said. “I’ve worked for Aims, municipalities, the city of Loveland, and I have never run into this.”

Consequences

For Carlin, business is hard. It got harder when he walked off the Future Legends job having invested $800,000 of his own money, and not being paid for $4.4 million in invoices. He hates to admit it, but he’s almost done.

“I’m really close (to going under),” he said. “Four and a half million is a lot of money.”

Meanwhile, Future Legends has a lot of work to do to keep its occupancy permits. According to Ballstadt’s letter to Katofsky in July, there were several issues that needed to be rectified or the town could post the entire site unfit for the public.

“We worked with them over the past year and have given them at least three extensions so far,” Ballstadt said. “If it wasn’t open for the public, it would essentially be a construction zone, and only construction personnel could be there.”

Ballstadt cited several issues in his letter to Katofsky, dated July 18, 2024.

“Examples of such conditions include, but are not limited to:

Dome & Pickleball Courts:

• On-going use of narrow access road not designed or approved or lighted for long-term or permanent ingress/egress.

• No secondary access using only one public ingress/egress access point – circuitous route through construction zones does not suffice for secondary access.

• Open trenches and construction areas accessible to public.

• On-going use of port-a-lets since opening with little to no progress on permanent restrooms in the past 6 months.

• Accumulation of trash and debris on site and infrequent servicing of port-a-lets.

Collegiate Field:

• Still utilizing parking areas with a single lift of asphalt not meeting Town standards.

• Fields to the west and south of collegiate field still under construction and open to trespass; these construction zones are in high traffic areas and present an attractive nuisance to children coming to the site.

• Still utilizing generator power for lighting; operations on generator power was allowed on a temporary basis to open facility but needs to be converted to permanent power.”

BizWest attempted to reach others involved with Future Legends, including Casey Katofsky, executive director of Future Legends, and Ryan Spilborghs, an officer in the Future Legends metro districts and a color analyst with the Colorado Rockies, as well as several contractors with unpaid bills and liens against the property. Most either did not return calls, or they refused to speak.

Windsor town manager Hale said he is still hopeful the project will get completed.

“As long as we give public access to the fields, the business stuff will work itself out,” Hale said. “One way or another, someday Future Legends will be all it has been hyped up to be. Obviously we want this to be successful and everyone to look back, and say this is great. It’s highly ambitious, I’m not familiar with another project that’s more complex than this. It’s got a lot of pieces, lenders and complexities, and they’re trying to find their path.”

* This story has been updated to reflect a 13th lawsuit filed against Future Legends, claiming $2.3 million is owed to Levy Premium Food Service Ltd, bringing the total amount in court claims to $11.3 million.

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