(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook joined the group of investors who took over a sprawling Arizona youth-sports facility that hammered bondholders with losses when it collapsed into bankruptcy.

Westbrook, a nine-time National Basketball League all-star, will also lead the facility’s basketball programming and community outreach efforts. 

The efforts to revive the complex may help boost the recoveries for bondholders, who were virtually wiped out after it filed for bankruptcy last year but retain a small equity stake in the business. 

Legacy Park, financed with $280 million of bonds issued through the Arizona Industrial Development Authority in 2020 and 2021, was unable to pay its debts after the pandemic upended the sports industry and usage of the facility fell far short of expectations.

A firm founded by Chad Brownstein, a Los Angeles-based investor and a former vice chairman of Banc of California, purchased Legacy Park for approximately $26 million at the end of 2023. The purchase provided bondholders with $2.4 million in cash and an 11% equity stake in the new ownership entity.

The new owners have since rebranded the facility as Arizona Athletic Grounds. 

Westbrook said he honed his basketball skills playing pickup games at Jesse Owens Park in Los Angeles instead of in organized — and often expensive — leagues. The former NBA Most Valuable Player first traveled to the facility while coaching a girls Amateur Athletic Union team in a tournament last summer.

“I didn’t play a lot of AAU basketball because I didn’t have a lot of access to teams and facilities,” said Westbrook. “This is why I think AAG is so important as it will give kids access to facilities to play all sports, not just basketball.” 

Westbrook and Brownstein have previously teamed up on charitable efforts in Los Angeles targeting at-risk youth and they both were early investors in Varo Bank, an online bank.

“Russ has developed an extraordinary focus on uplifting people who are in the same position that he was as an at-risk youth,” said Chad Brownstein, chairman of Arizona Athletic Grounds. “And he will also be able to lead the way in programming for the national AAU tournament marketplace.” 

Fear of over saturation has permeated the youth sports market in recent years as more and more mega-complexes have entered the space to compete for a small number of national AAU tournaments. 

But, AAG plans to beef up operations in traditionally overlooked segments of the industry, like action sports and female competitions, to mitigate competition concerns.  

“Diamond sports, court sports and square grass sports are saturated right now,” said Brownstein. “So, we’re going to specialize in what we think the future of sports in America is, and that means action sports and focusing on the young women of the United States.”

--With assistance from Martin Z. Braun.

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