An entity linked to legendary boxing promoter Don King that owns the Palm Beach Jai Alai fronton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Friday, May 15, meaning the site could soon be sold to developers interested in the site for housing, according to King’s bankruptcy lawyer.
The move came days before the Mangonia Park fronton, owned since 1999 by King, was set to be sold at a court-ordered auction on Monday, 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.
Now, as a result of the Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, the auction was canceled, according to a Palm Beach County clerk’s foreclosure sale website.
And the future of the 53-acre site remains unclear, even as real estate developers have circled the property for years hoping to turn it into a mixed-use complex featuring housing and shops.
Robert Furr, King’s Boca Raton bankruptcy lawyer, said the next step in the Chapter 11 case is to create a marketing plan to sell the property within a 90-day timeframe.
Furr thinks many developers will be interested in the site for housing, especially workforce housing, because of the nearby Tri-Rail station.
“We think we’ll get several people interested in purchasing the property,” Furr said. “It’s the largest piece of undeveloped land east of [Intertstate 95] in this area of Palm Beach County.”
The King-owned property is at 1415 45th St., in the tiny town of Mangonia Park, which has only 108 acres, less than a square mile in size.
Details of the fronton’s Chapter 11 filing in Palm Beach County
In its Chapter 11 filing, DK Arena Inc., the Don King entity that owns the property, listed liabilities of between $50 million to $100 million.
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows debtors breathing room to reorganize their finances or complete the sale of a property, as is the expectation here, Furr said.
Among the debts owed is $43 million in a loan, fees and costs by an affiliate of lender Taylor Made Lending LLC, according to court records.
In April 2025, Palm50Acres LLC, the Taylor Made Lending affiliate, filed a Palm Beach County Circuit Court foreclosure lawsuit against King and his business entities.
In November, a judge issued an order in favor of the lender.
How important is this 53-acre site to Mangonia Park?
With the property now in Chapter 11, Furr is optimistic the property can attract a developer in a competitive bidding.
In April, Mangonia Park Town Manager Ken Metcalf was already hopeful the property could be turned into a mixed-use complex featuring up to 2,000 housing units, if a developer were willing to help the town obtain a larger water storage unit for residents.
But Metcalf said nothing can be built on the 53-acre site until the town gets a new, larger water storage tank for clean drinking water. The town’s existing water supply already is at 75% capacity, Metcalf said.
Metcalf said a developer wishing to build on the site would need to help pay for a larger storage tank.
With real estate developers in a near-frenzy to build new apartments and condominiums in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, Mangonia Park’s location between these two cities makes it a sudden hotspot.
“We get calls every week, maybe a couple times a week,” Metcalf said. “The property is very important to the town, and very important to the region.”
Fronton dates to a period of Old Florida
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 permanently closed in 1994.
King, 94, is a longtime Palm Beach County resident who now lives in suburban Boca Raton. The legendary boxing promoter introduced the world to names such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.
In 1999, King’s wife, Henrietta, bought the property for $6.3 million. Henrietta died in 2010 at age 87.
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.”
But 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.
Part of the fronton property already includes parking for the nearby Tri-Rail station. This makes the site a convenient location for workforce housing, both for-sale townhouses or rental apartments, Metcalf said.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Don King-linked jai alai arena files Chapter 11. Is housing in future?
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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