KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City development company says circumstances beyond its control have forced it to drop its plan to turn Kemper Arena into a regional youth sports facility.

The Kansas City Star  reports City Councilman Ed Ford announced Wednesday that the Foutch Brothers company told him it was no longer pursuing an overhaul of the arena.

That leaves a proposal by the American Royal, in partnership with Sporting Kansas City’s investor group, to demolish the arena and replace it with a custom-designed $50 million multipurpose building.

Kemper Arena has lost nearly all of its events to the downtown Sprint Center in recent years and is currently idle.

Supporters of the American Royal plan had suggested that approval of the Foutch proposal could prompt the Royal to go somewhere else.