Field of schemes? Windsor sports complex on shaky ground due to litany of legal issues

Five years after breaking ground on a massive sports complex touted to draw more than 1 million people and significant tax revenue to Windsor, the project is mired in a litany of legal issues and unfulfilled promises that threaten its future.

Some of the planned structures and fields at Future Legends Sports Complex have been completed. But construction on many of the project's main proposed facilities has either not started or is partially complete with construction at a standstill for months as the developers battle lawsuits and liens.

"The project is not where we would like it, and we would like to see it going a lot better than it is right now," Windsor Town Manager Shane Hale told the Coloradoan on Aug. 21. "But at the end of the day there has been a lot of private assets spent on this development. With the amount of money invested, it is hard to think that there won't be long-term positives even though the road has been a lot harder and slower than we would have liked."

Hale said he met with the project's co-founder Jeff Katofsky last week, who assured him a new general contractor is being secured and that Katofsky was meeting with lenders to get the project going again. Hale pointed out the town does not have a business relationship with Katofsky, only a relationship regarding use of athletic fields.

The Coloradoan left a message with Katofsky at his law firm in Sherman Oaks, California, on Aug. 21. He returned the call and left a message later that day regarding questions about the future of the project.

"We have a new general contractor and we're ramping back up and will get started with construction. I expect that to happen in the next couple of weeks," Katofsky said in the message.

An Aug. 11 BizWest story regarding the 100-acre Future Legends Sports Complex detailed the project's issues, including Katofsky and his group "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."

More: Read the full BizWest story detailing the lawsuits faced by Katofsky and his group

The Coloradoan reached out to Casey Katofsky via text Aug. 5 for a tour of the complex. Casey Katofsky is the son of Jeff Katofsky and the Future Legends executive director of operations. On Aug. 6, he agreed to the tour, which the Coloradoan had done in past years, for the following week.

On Aug. 13, Casey Katofsky texted that he would be "unavailable for the foreseeable future."

The Coloradoan sent another text to Casey Katofsky on Aug. 21, asking if it could tour the complex. The text remained unanswered at the time of publication.

Windsor sports complex's long history on shaky ground

The original concept announced in May of 2017 called for a $225 million, 413-acre sports park , touted as the world’s largest sports park, to be constructed at the intersection of Colorado Highway 257 and Weld County Road 74 (Harmony Road) in north Windsor.

Rocky Mountain Sports Park, as the project was named, included a "Field of Dreams" philosophy with 65 synthetic turf fields for various sports and 10,000-seat feature stadium that backers of the plan hoped one day would be home to a minor league baseball team.

It also included retail space for hotels, restaurants and retail shops, bringing the total project to 490 acres.

Ceremonial shovels turned the first dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony in October of 2017 with project stakeholders announcing the beginning of “something that will forever change the face of Windsor." Among the stakeholders was Ryan Spilborghs, a former Colorado Rockies player, current Rockies sportscaster and then-vice president of the project.

The complex was planned to open in 2019.

Despite months of silence after the groundbreaking, park developers in June of 2018 assured the Coloradoan the project was moving forward.

The original plan was soon scrapped and in September of 2018 a new plan was hatched.

The project was renamed the Colorado National Sports Park and included the town of Windsor and private developers building out land including and surrounding the town's Diamond Valley Sports Park.

To financially go forward with the plan, developers requested the town of Windsor deed a 100-acre site on which the existing Diamond Valley Sports Park was located, valued collectively at $4.4 million, to the Colorado National Sports Park group.

In exchange, the group was to maintain the existing 50-acre Diamond Valley Sports Park and build two additional sports fields for use by the town. The group also would receive approximately 50 acres to develop a mix of sports facilities and commercial retail sites, including hotels and restaurants.

There is an additional 18 acres used for other purposes at the site, 1111 Diamond Valley Drive, bringing the total land exchange to 118 acres.

In March of 2019, the town board voted 7-0 in favor of the plan with certain stipulations , including dates by which new athletic fields to be used by the town were to be completed.

In June of 2019, the project was once again renamed, to the current Future Legends Sports Complex, and Jeff Katofsky, a California-based developer and lawyer, took over development of the project , along with Spilborghs. The two are listed as co-founders of Future Legends on its website .

"I’m in charge now, and it’s going to get done and done my way," Katofsky told the Coloradoan in a June 19, 2019, story. "When I say something is going to get done, it will get done. I have proven that."

Five years later, Future Legends remains mostly mired in unkept promises

Major financial and construction delays have continued to plague the project with missed deadlines a constant theme.

"Some bad things have happened to the project and some are self-inflicted," Hale told the Coloradoan.

Initial construction of Future Legends started in November of 2019, at which time Jeff Katofsky told the Coloradoan he estimated "the complex will attract 1.2 million people annually to Windsor when fully built by early 2023."

That didn't happen.

In a July 25, 2022, story in the Coloradoan , the Katofskys again were confident that at least the project's main 6,500-seat stadium, TicketSmarter Stadium, would be fully operational and that their minor league baseball team, Northern Colorado Owlz, and men's soccer team, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, would play home games there.

When Jeff and Casey Katofsky were asked in that story if the stadium would be open when those teams begin home play in April 2023, both answered, "100%."

"It’s not as early as we hoped, but 2023 will be a full ramp-up for everything," Casey Katofsky said in the July 25, 2022, story. "The glass-half-full approach is that everything will be ready at the same time versus a ramp-up."

In a March 26, 2024 , story in the Coloradoan, Future Legends announced the primary 6,500-seat stadium, which changed names from TicketSmarter Stadium to TicketSocket Park, would not be ready for play until at least "the middle-end" of the 2024 seasons.

That didn't happen either. That left the Owlz, Hailstorm and minor league women's soccer team, the Rain, to once again play home games in 2024 at adjacent 2,500-seat 4Rivers Equipment Stadium (Future Legends Field). That stadium with synthetic turf had received recent upgrades.

And that move to the larger TicketSocket Park?

That isn't looking likely any time soon. The stadium has largely only consisted of a concrete wall around the home plate and infield foul lines supported by braces since at least 2022. A large dirt pile covered with weeds sits in the middle of where the infield would be.

There has been no additional construction evident in recent years, according to Coloradoan photos .

In a Coloradoan story Dec 1, 2021 , Jeff Katofsky announced a dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton were expected to open at the Future Legends Sports Complex in 2023. The hotels would bring more than 250 rooms to the sports park, the news release proclaimed.

"We're eager to bring this project to life and start welcoming new travelers to the area in 2023," Katofsky said in the story.

There has been no construction on the hotels or any other commercial retail sites on the property.

The shell of the 70,000-square-foot, multi-story athletic dormitory with 64 rooms that can house nearly 1,000 athletes and coaches is mostly constructed, but plywood currently covers some of the windows.

Many of the proposed athletic fields either haven't started or are under some degree of construction. Weeds, construction fencing and building material are prevalent among unfinished sections of the complex.

As of Aug. 22, there was no machinery or equipment to construct buildings or fields on the property.

In addition to the 4Rivers Stadium, the complex's massive dome, pickleball courts, clubhouse and some multi-use athletic fields are complete and have been used by various groups for games and practices.

The multipurpose bubble, as the dome is called, covers 4 acres, rises 96 feet high and has been used by various sports teams since the beginning of 2023.

However, the structure still isn't equipped with restrooms, forcing those using the facility to use outside portable toilets.

Hale said that is expected to change in the coming weeks when a certificate of occupancy will be issued.

The town has already extended some certificates of occupancy on the project.

What is the risk to Windsor if current developers fail to deliver?

Hale would not speculate on the risk of the project failing under the current direction of Katofsky and Spilborghs.

He believes the project will be completed by the current developers or some other group because of the financial investment in place.

He said if the current development group is not able to financially make the project work, it is unlikely the town would want the 50 acres of land given to the developers for athletic facilities and commercial retail back. He said the town wants to see the land developed and generate tax revenue from whatever developer finishes the project.

"The bones are there for the long-term success," he said.

Hale said the town does have options for securing the land on which some athletic fields dedicated for use by Windsor residents sit, should the current project fail. That includes the Diamond Valley Sports Complex facilities formerly managed by the town.

"There are broad expectations to be met and if they fail those, we have clawback provisions on the roughly 50 acres of athletic facilities that would come back to the town of Windsor," he said. "Our focus continues to be ensuring recreation is still occurring at our facilities."

Town of Windsor attorney Dan Money said the only potential legal issues the town foresees is with liens on the 50 acres that includes the Diamond Valley Sports Complex.

He said the town would need to advise the court its interest in assuring the continued use of those athletic facilities as part of the town's recreation sports programming no matter who develops the project.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Field of schemes? Windsor sports complex on shaky ground due to litany of legal issues