Arizona Athletic Grounds, the massive sports complex in southeast Mesa formerly known as Bell Bank Park and Legacy Sports Park, could go from losing $1 million a month to turning a profit in less than a year, according the park’s new president and owner.
The 320-acre park was bought out of bankruptcy in December by AZ Athletic Associates LLC, a co-venture between Mike Burke, who know serves as the park's president, and Rocky Mountain Resources, a private organization with offices in Los Angeles and Denver that owns and operates several infrastructure and sporting assets.
The sports complex is one of the largest sporting venues in the United States, with dozens of facilities – including a 3,000-seat outdoor stadium, a 2,800-seat indoor arena, 35 soccer/lacrosse/football fields, 57 indoor volleyball courts, eight baseball and softball fields, 20 basketball courts and more. It is primarily used for youth and amateur sporting events, but professional sports, including pickleball, use the venue from time to time.
Since closing the deal, AZ Athletic Associates has brought on NBA star Russell Westbrook as an investor. Westbrook’s company – Russell Westbrook Enterprises – will run basketball operations at the park, as well as community outreach.
“We're on a path towards break-even profitability,” Burke said. “I think we'll accomplish that this year.”
The previous owners lauded the property as one of the most visited sports venues in the world, but soon went into default on its loans and failed to pay several of the companies that helped build it. Legacy Cares, the former owner of the property, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2023. At the time, the nonprofit owed more than $366.7 million in debt and had spent the $284 million it received in tax-exempt, unrated revenue bonds through the Arizona Industrial Development Authority to build out the site.
Prior to buying and running AAG, Burke has acquired several other distressed businesses and made them profitable. He told the Business Journal that there are real business and operational issues facing the facility, but those can be fixed. He and his team are working to do that, but it won’t happen overnight.
“We don't have to make the big, rushed decisions because of capital structure issues,” Burke said. “We closed our transaction all equity. We have a 99-year ground lease. We have incredible partners like Russell Westbrook, that Rocky Mountain Resources – particularly Chad Brownstein – have brought to the table. I feel like we have all the right elements for long term success, and that's the focus.”
During his few months in charge, Burke said he’s seen interest in the park grow. AAG has signed hundreds of new contracts to host events or tournaments at its park.
The park is also seeing huge attendance numbers at the events already scheduled there. Over President’s Day weekend in February, AAG saw more than 40,000 people on both Saturday and Sunday, Burke said.
Shortly after the acquisition, AAG ended its relationship with Elite Sports, the management company that operated sports for the facility at the time of the acquisition, and brought those tasks in-house to improve efficiency. While some people were let go in the process, most of Elite's employees came over to work for AAG.
“Coming into an enterprise like this that faced the large public challenges that Legacy Cares, Legacy Sports and Elite Sports faced – tough decisions had to be made,” Burke said. “We have a good, lean organization. We've signed 200 new contracts. We're fully booked for the next 90 to 100 days.”
One aspect helping Burke and the team at AAG is the fact they aren’t facing hundreds of millions of dollars in loans as well as millions of dollars in mechanics liens. When AZ Athletic Associates acquired the park for $25.8 million, more than 75% of the purchase price went towards paying off mechanics lien holders.
By not having the heavy debt load, AAG’s management is able to focus on operations and spending the right amount of money when needed.
The problems at the sports complex go beyond financial mismanagement, the new ownership group acknowledges.
The first two problems on the list are parking and Wi-Fi. Since opening in 2023, parking comes with long lines and high prices. AAG is in talks with a third-party management company that will have employees on the ground but will also implement technology and new kiosks. Park ownership is also looking at designing new drop-off areas and even conducting a traffic study to “structurally address the core of the issue,” Burke said.
A solution that will get reliable wireless internet access to all guests is expected to be in place in the next two months, said Torrie Miraldi, AAG’s director of social engagement. Meanwhile, Burke said AAG is adding elements such as shaded areas, music and upgraded food and beverage options to improve the overall experience.
“We're definitely not ignorant or breezing past the pain points of the past ownership. We are well aware of all the pain points because we're also here dealing with them ourselves,” Miraldi said. “There are things that we've been able to solve instantly and there are things that we want to make sure we're nurturing so that they're not short-term solutions, they're long-term solutions.”
While sports will also be the majority of what happens at AAG, Miraldi said the next step is taking advantage of all the different uses for the space at the park.
“We really want to make it known that it's also special events, programming and event space,” Miraldi said. “We want to tap into music. We're going to be hosting things like a First Friday and food trucks. We want it to be a place where families know they can come, be safe, and have their kids come and attend.”
In the past few months, AAG’s leadership team has had several meetings regarding sponsorships. While that is a form of revenue the company will be actively pursuing, Miraldi said it isn’t the primary focus right now.
“It’s about having ourselves be buttoned up before presenting these larger partnerships. We don't want it to come off as ‘We need to get this’ and then we're not equipped to be housing a logo or whatever it looks like,” she said. “We would never want to disrespect or overstep or overcommit and under deliver on our end.”
From the meetings and conversations had on a sponsorship side, Miraldi said there is a lot of momentum, but there are still things AAG needs to “filter through” before diving in deep on that side of the business.
480-656-8393
Service Areas
