The father and son who opened Legacy Park, a massive sports park project in east Mesa that ended up in bankruptcy and left investors out more than $270 million, were federally charged with fraud.

The father and son who opened Legacy Park, conceived as a youth sports wonderland in the desert in east Mesa, pleaded guilty on May 28 to federal charges of creating false documents to sell the ...

Legacy Cares, the nonprofit that operated the park, filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2023. The $284 million facility was sold for less than $26 million. Bondholders were left in the lurch.

Legacy Park opened in early 2022. It failed to generate enough revenue to make even one monthly bond payment, and by October 2022 it was in default, according to the Justice Department.

The complex was known as Bell Bank Park when it opened to much fanfare in January 2022 at Ellsworth and Pecos roads. The sports and entertainment venue features dozens of indoor and outdoor courts ...

The father and son who opened Legacy Park, conceived as a youth sports wonderland in the desert in east Mesa, pleaded guilty on May 28 to federal charges of creating false documents to sell the ...

Four of the projects it approved, including Legacy Park, went into default. The authority had operated in relative obscurity until The Republic published a story on its activities in 2021.