The former Palm Beach Jai Alai fronton in Mangonia Park could sell for $55 million as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization by the property's owner, an affiliate of legendary boxing promoter Don King.
DK Arena, the King-linked entity that owns the site, is asking a judge's permission to allow Palm50Acres, LLC, an affiliate of the property's lender, Taylor Made Lending LLC, to serve as a "stalking horse" bidder in advance of an Oct. 30 auction of the former fronton, according to a Sept. 29 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida.
The $55 million figure is more than the $43 million owed to the lender on the loan, but the price reflects strong market interest in the property, said Robert Furr, King's Boca Raton-based
bankruptcy lawyer.
The $55 million likely won't be the final price. According to bankruptcy rules, this initial bid merely sets the floor for any other bidder wanting to take control of the 53-acre site.
If the judge approves the initial bid, the next step is for prospective buyers to submit their bids to Furr by Oct. 26. After that, the Oct. 30 auction will take place with other bidders trying to buy the property from the stalking horse bidder.
Furr expects the final sales price for the rare, large property to ultimately exceed $60 million.
"In all my years of selling real estate in bankruptcy, I have never seen a property which generated so much interest before it was placed on the market," Furr said. "This is a very unusual property in which the interest is extremely high.”
King, 94, is a longtime Palm Beach County resident and lives in suburban Boca Raton. The legendary boxing promoter introduced the world to names such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.
The pending sale means the property is about to be available for purchase at a time when home builders and other real estate developers are eager to buy land near the coast in Palm Beach County.
This is the especially the case in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, where apartments and condos are being built or are in the works. Mangonia Park is in between these two cities.
But housing developers aren't the only ones eying the site, the largest piece of property available for redevelopment east of Interstate 95 in this part of Palm Beach County.
The former jai alai fronton even is being eyed by developers wishing to build a sports arena, Furr said.
A sports arena was a concept first envisioned by King and his wife when they bought the site in 1999 through an affiliate, DK Arena. At the time of the fronton purchase, the Kings hoped to turn the center into a sports and entertainment complex, a "miniature Madison Square Garden."
Why is DK Arena in Chapter 11?
DK Arena filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization May 15 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida.
The filing was made days before the fronton was set to be sold at a court-ordered auction on May 18. The sale was set as part of a $43 million foreclosure lawsuit filed against DK Arena, King and other business entities by a lender.
Among the debts owed is $43 million in a loan, fees and costs to Palm50Acres, the affiliate of lender Taylor Made Lending, according to court records.
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows debtors breathing room either to reorganize their finances or complete the sale of a property, as is the expectation here, Furr said.
In April, Mangonia Park Town Manager Ken Metcalf said he was hopeful the former fronton property could be turned into a mixed-use complex featuring up to 2,000 residences.
But Metcalf said nothing could be built on the 53-acre site until the town obtained a new, larger water storage tank for clean drinking water. The town's existing water supply already was at 75% capacity, Metcalf said.
On Sept. 18, Palm Beach County commissioners took a step toward solving that problem. The county commission agreed to provide the town of Mangonia Park with up to $5 million for water and wastewater improvements.
Mangonia Park is a tiny town of about 108 acres, less than a square mile in size. According to U.S. Census Bureau, the population stood at 2,384 in 2024, the last year for which records are available.
Palm Beach Jai Alai's long history
Jai alai is a type of racquetball, dating from the 17th century in the Basque region of Spain, using a ball bounced off a wall and caught with a wicker-basket like glove.
The Palm Beach fronton first was built in 1955, then rebuilt after a 1978 fire. It closed in 1994.
In 1999, King's wife, Henrietta, bought the property for $6.3 million. Henrietta died in 2010 at age 87.
Even though the Kings envisioned a sports arena on the site, they never found a developer to help them, and the county wasn't willing to contribute money. The site has remained vacant for 32 years.
But times have changed, and with the county's booming population, investors and real estate developers want to offer more than just new restaurants, shops and high-rise condos and offices. Some are talking about bringing more entertainment to Palm Beach County, and a sports arena could fit the bill.
Making the property even more attractive is its location next to the Tri-Rail station.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer and columnist at the Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bid on Don King-owned fronton could start at $55 million | Exclusive
