Court records show the owner of the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh owes far more than the $13 million dollar construction loan currently in default.
The Chapter 11 filing by Fox Valley Pro Basketball shows the arena operator owes its top 20 creditors nearly $8.9 million. Much of the money was loaned by original investors in the arena.
Among the loans is $3 million from Peter and Carol Gehrke of Amherst, Wisconsin, $1.2 million to James Shingler of Naples, Florida, and $1 million to Oshkosh developer Eric Hoopman.
An attorney for Hoopman says the original investors were asked for the loans on the claim of FVPB President Greg Pierce that he just needed money for the short term, before he could get conventional financing from banks.
FVPB also owes $340,000 to its main tenant, the Wisconsin Herd. Herd President Steve Brandeis has said that they will continue to work with Menominee Nation Arena despite the bankruptcy and the debt.
