City of Johnston Sues Ignit Over Failed $63M Sports Complex

The Johnston Ignit sports complex lawsuit is a breach of contract case the City of Johnston filed in Polk County District Court on March 13, 2026, seeking more than $3.6 million from Ignit Johnston LLC after the developers took millions in public incentives, missed every pre-construction milestone on a proposed $63 million youth sports complex, and refused either to repay the money or to return the property to the city. The developers, brothers Chad and Brian O’Meara, have countersued for more than $142 million, and the case is pending alongside multiple foreclosure actions tied to the same project.

What the City Paid For and What It Expected Back

The project was planned as a roughly 200,000-square-foot indoor sports and recreation facility on more than 30 acres along Merle Hay Road, north of Interstate 80/35. Under a development agreement with Ignit Johnston LLC, the city provided $3,527,361 in pre-development grants and financial assistance, pledged up to $14.2 million in tax increment financing contingent on completion, and agreed to pay Ignit $360,000 per year for five years after opening to guarantee public access to courts and fitness studios.¹

In exchange, the developers were required to hit a series of pre-construction milestones: securing financing, providing finalized plans and cost estimates, closing on a construction loan, ordering steel, transferring certain property to the city, and beginning construction by an established deadline. As of April 2025, the agreement required construction to be completed within two years, and if it wasn’t, the developer had to repay the $3.5 million in grants plus up to $300,000 in legal, engineering, and other city costs.²

How the Deal Collapsed

The developers never broke ground. According to the city, Ignit failed to meet any of its pre-construction obligations, and in December 2025 the city formally declared the project in default.³

The default provisions gave Ignit two options: transfer the property to the city or repay all incentives and project costs. Johnston set a February 1, 2026, deadline for the developers to facilitate the sale of the property back to the city for roughly $1.4 million. They did neither. After the February 1 deadline passed, the city demanded full repayment of the pre-development grants and professional fees within 30 days, and issued a final notice of failure to reimburse on March 4, 2026.⁴

The City’s Claims

On March 2, 2026, the Johnston City Council voted unanimously to pursue legal action.⁵ The complaint, filed 11 days later in Polk County District Court, alleges breach of contract and seeks $3.61 million in damages plus attorney fees and other litigation costs.³ A representative for the city declined to comment, citing the active litigation.²

Ignit’s $142 Million Counterclaim

On May 30, 2026, Ignit Johnston LLC filed counterclaims seeking damages in excess of $142 million. The developer alleges breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, and unjust enrichment.⁶

The counterclaims allege the city’s actions delayed the project for years, pushing development into a period of difficult capital markets and high inflation. Ignit accuses city staff of saying “one thing but [doing] something completely different,” and lists failure to timely acquire property, resistance to grant applications, problematic detention pond requirements, and the withdrawal of a financial commitment. The developer also alleges the city benefited unjustly by appropriating infrastructure, engineering work, and development blueprints at the developer’s expense. Ignit has requested a jury trial.⁶

Other Lawsuits Circling the Project and Its Owners

The city’s case is one of several. Lincoln Savings Bank of Waterloo filed a foreclosure petition on November 7, 2025, against Ignit Johnston LLC and Chad O’Meara over more than $3.56 million in unpaid commercial loans tied to three Merle Hay Road properties. A non-jury trial was scheduled for mid-March 2026, and the case remained ongoing as of June 2026.⁷⁶

Gulf Coast Realty, a Naples, Florida, property management firm, filed a separate foreclosure case over a $2 million loan dated January 2024; that case was dismissed on June 9, 2026. City State Bank filed its own foreclosure action against Ignit Johnston LLC and Gulf Coast Realty on May 20, 2026, and that case is ongoing. Two individual investors also sued Ignit Johnston LLC in January 2026, each alleging default on a $50,000 promissory note.⁶

The O’Meara brothers’ Ignit Sports and Fitness facility in Grimes closed abruptly on February 10, 2026, after the landlord locked the building over unpaid rent.⁸⁹¹⁰

Where the Case Stands

As of mid-2026, the City of Johnston’s breach of contract lawsuit is pending in Polk County District Court, with Ignit’s $142 million counterclaim now part of the dispute. The project site sits undeveloped and remains tied up in active foreclosure proceedings involving Lincoln Savings Bank and City State Bank. Neither Chad nor Brian O’Meara has been charged with any crime, and both have declined to comment publicly on the lawsuits.⁶

1
Des Moines Register. Johnston Sports Complex Ignit Lenders Foreclose
2
WHO 13. Ignit Johnston Developers Sued for $3.6 Million by City of Johnston
3
Business Record. Johnston Files Breach of Contract Lawsuit Against Ignit
4
Des Moines Register. Johnston Ignit Sports Complex Ultimatum
5
KCCI. Johnston Ignit Project City Council Votes Lawsuit
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Des Moines Register. Ignit Johnston Lawsuit Sports Complex Counterclaim
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KCCI. Ignit Johnston Project Faces Foreclosure
8
WHO 13. Ignit Sports Grimes Closure
9
WHO 13. Another Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit Targets O’Meara Brothers Over Ignit Businesses
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WHO 13. Ignit Failure to Pay for Lease Petition