Debt-Laden Woodridge Hockey Rink Has New Owners
Suburban sports complexes that carried too much debt in the early post-2008 crash years have struggled to recover in this boom. Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge is another casualty of borrowing too much. The arena, home to a renowned youth hockey program, was seized by Blackstreet Capital Partners in a foreclosure sale.
The Chicago Mission AAA Hockey Club, which produced three rookies playing for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, borrowed $13.7M to buy and renovate the complex in 2011. American Chartered Bank filed a foreclosure suit against the club last year, alleging the Mission owed $8.9M in matured, unpaid debt. Blackstreet bought the debt on Seven Bridges in July, Crain's reports. Blackstreet and The Mission are negotiating a long-term lease on the space.
Another suburban hockey club, Leafs Hockey Club, agreed last November to turn over its West Dundee complex to UMB Group after racking up $25M in debt on the property, via bonds Leafs used from the Illinois Finance Authority to build the arena. [Crain's]
