The owners of the Firstar Center Thursday filed for bankruptcy court protection from creditors while attempting to find new ownership for the struggling 16,000-seat arena.

        An affiliate of Provident Bank, the center's largest creditor, has offered to buy the 25-year-old building for slightly more than $31 million. But because the center's owner, Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, owes almost $40 million, it decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while attempting to restructure its debt and find a new owner.

        The filing won't affect the center's operations, including upcoming concerts and events and the remaining games of the Cincinnati Cyclones minor league hockey team and the Cincinnati Stuff minor league basketball team.

The Firstar Center (Enquirer photo) | ZOOM |

        The Cyclones, also owned by Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, are included in the bankruptcy filing; the Stuff has separate ownership and is not part of the bankruptcy, the center's manager said.

        The bankruptcy filing is the latest attempt to end several years of financial struggle for the ownership group that spent $35 million to buy and renovate the old Riverfront Coliseum in 1997.

        Losses from the Cyclones and construction for Fort Washington Way and the new Great American Ball Park next door that has limited access to the arena have made it difficult to pay off almost $30 million in debt from Provident and the Cincinnati Equity Fund.

        Doug Kirchhofer, president of Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, wasn't available for comment Thursday. But in an interview last fall with the Enquirer, he acknowledged trying to find new investors for the facility.

        Martha Schwartz, interim center general manager and principal with Stafford Sports, a New Jersey-based consulting firm that has attempted to broker a deal, said the search for new ownership has been under way for some time.

        “We spoke to numerous highly qualified or strategic buyers, but no one was interested in purchasing the facility with its current level of debt,” she said.

        Under federal bankruptcy law, any sale would have to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Perlman, who was assigned the case.

        Legg Mason Real Estate Services Inc., a Philadelphia-based real estate consulting firm, has been retained to solicit other bidders and oversee the auction process.

        The offer from Cincinnati Arena Holdings, the Provident affiliate, is expected to serve as the floor for any new bids.

        A spokeswoman for Provident declined comment. Provident, whose major shareholder is the family of Cincinnati Reds owner Carl Lindner, loaned Mr. Kirchho fer's group more than $20 million to buy the facility.

        The group also borrowed $6 million from the privately financed Cincinnati Equity Fund. A spokesman for the Equity Fund didn't return a call for comment.

        A complete list of the Firstar Center's assets and liabilities wasn't included in the bankruptcy filing Thursday. The arena said it has more than 200 creditors who are owed almost $40 million, but only about 1 percent of that amount is owed to local unsecured creditors.

        Ms. Schwartz said the future of the Cincinnati Cyclones will be decided by whoever buys the facility. But she said the Provident Bank affiliate has indicated that it wants professional hockey to continue at the facility.

        How long it will take to complete the bidding process and the bankruptcy reorganization wasn't clear Thursday, but an arena spokesman said the process could be completed in 60 to 90 days.

        Doug Moss, president of the International Hockey League, said the league would operate next season. He acknowledged that the Cyclones have “difficult issues to deal with.”

        He said the Cyclones were “working within the league ownership” to try to solve those problems. He would not elaborate.

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