Future Legends entity files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

WINDSOR — Future Legends Sports Complex owner Jeff Katofsky filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on one of the six LLCs that he uses to operate the Windsor sports project.

Katofsky filed for Chapter 11 in Nevada Bankruptcy Court for Future Legends 5 LLC, citing $10.47 million in liabilities, most of which he notes are disputed amounts. The filing will effectively put a stop to efforts to collect debts owed by the LLC, and all ongoing court proceedings involving lawsuits for unpaid bills under the Future Legends 5 entity. Katofsky has five other LLCs that own portions of the complex.

“We have chosen to put JUST THE DOME entity into a Chapter 11,” Katofsky said in an emailed response to questions Tuesday. “This does a few things: 1) allows us to continue to do business as usual in the Dome, 2) removes control of the receiver over the Dome, and 3) allows us to complete the financing. I do not expect the Chapter 11 to be in effect long term or for it to leak into any of the other ownership entities.”

The Future Legends Sports complex was to be a central complex by which youth teams from throughout the country would come for tournaments and clinics, such as soccer, and it also has been home to three minor league or semi-professional teams. The project was to be anchored by a main arena, dormitories for visiting teams, hotels, and commercial shops. Construction all but stopped a year ago, due to unpaid bills which caused vendors and contractors to file liens and lawsuits.

Katofsky has been embroiled in several lawsuits in Weld District Court in Colorado, and most recently lost control over three main structures on the property in east Windsor: the complex’s dome and clubhouse, the arena and collegiate stadium.

In the middle of a case in which three vendors combined their claims, U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union, which loaned Future Legends $45 million to develop the sports complex, filed a motion to sue for nonpayment. Due to that filing, Lyons appointed a receiver to take over the dome, the dormitories and the arena.

That spawned its own set of filings by Future Legends, claiming that the receiver was incompetent and inexperienced in running the facility and that his presence could place the complex in jeopardy of securing future loans to complete the complex.

Katofsky filed the bankruptcy notice late Monday night, all but halting proceedings planned in an emergency hearing scheduled Tuesday in Weld District Court. The court-appointed receiver had petitioned to cancel a lease on the dome under Future Legends 5 because he said it was diverting money from the dome, leaving thousands in unpaid bills.

According to court paperwork, the dome is owned by Future Legends LLC; the Stadium is owned by Future Legends 1; and the dormitory is owned by Future Legends 4. 

In the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Katofsky named Future Legends 5’s largest 20 creditors, which in many cases are the companies that have already filed lawsuits.  

Some of those credits are also utilities, such as $76,000 for water and sewer services from the Town of Windsor, $80,000 to Xcel Energy; $20,000 to Comcast for internet services; $35,000 to its trash hauler, Ram Waste; $300,000 to its software vendor, Nebulosity, in California; $40,000 to Kone Elevators in Illinois; $40,000 in janitorial services from Checkmark Cleaning; and $775,000 from Unique Funding Solutions in Hollywood, California.

The filing also notices liens: $4 million from Pinnacle Electric; $3.76 million from Jaco General Contractor; and $139,991 from Sunbelt Rentals.

According to the court notes on the case, Katofsky must file a complete list of creditors by Oct. 28.

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