Court ruling likely dashes last traces of developer’s arena proposal

A recent U.S. District Court ruling may have finally wiped away the last vestiges of Texas developer Chris Milam and his infamous arena proposal for property controlled by the Bureau of Land Management in Henderson.

The backstory to this arena saga is Milam agreed to not do business in Henderson as part of his March 2013 settlement with the city. That deal came after Milam said his proposed sports facility complex for 480 acres of BLM land was no longer feasible, but that he still wanted to forge ahead with buying the land from the agency for $10.56 million.

That didn't go over well with Henderson officials, who were led to believe by Milam that sports facilities would be developed there. So, Henderson asked the BLM to halt the sale of the land to Milam, and his lenders, Silver State Land LLC.

The BLM did just that in May 2013, pulling the plug on the deal for the property east of The M Resort.

Even though Milam was no longer in the picture because of the settlement, his lenders, Silver State Land, moved ahead with a legal complaint in May 2013 asking a federal court in Washington, D.C., to order the BLM to issue the patent for the federal land to Silver State. And now 2½ years later, perhaps there is closure.

In a 41-page ruling dated Nov. 19, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell wrote the BLM did not have to sell the property to Silver State Land.

"The agency argues, and the Court agrees, that the DOI (Department of the Interior) secretary has authority to terminate the sale of public land, even after the acceptance of a purchase offer, where consummation of the sale would be contrary to law," Howell wrote.

In another section of the ruling, Howell wrote, "The termination of the sale reflects no 'policy' shift, but rather the agency's compliance with the laws governing disposition of public lands."

An Austin, Texas area lawyer representing Silver State Land, Walt Batla, said the plaintiff has not decided whether to appeal.

"We don't agree with the court's rationale," Batla said this week.

The city of Henderson was not a party in the litigation. Under the city's settlement deal with Milam, Henderson agreed to not interfere with Silver State Land's efforts to obtain title to the property. City Attorney Josh Reid said, "I am happy that there was finally a decision in this matter, which has pending for quite some time."

Reid also noted, "If the decision is not appealed, the city will go forward with creating a new plan for this site and working with the BLM to put the land up for auction at some future date. Though any decision would be made by our City Council, I feel pretty confident in saying that this site will not be planned for a future sports arena or stadium."

BLM spokesperson Beverly Winston said her agency, "Welcomes the court's ruling affirming the department's decisions with respect to the Silver State Land sale."

The case evokes bad memories for Henderson.

In 2012, the sole reason Henderson backed the Milam land deal with the BLM in the first place was that city officials were told by Milam that he would develop a major league sports complex, including an arena and soccer stadium. Milam said he was trying to recruit the NBA Sacramento Kings to play in the planned arena, but then said arena financing had collapsed and that the sports complex was no longer feasible.

But after the city saw promotional fliers about proposals to sell that property for residential uses, Henderson wanted the BLM to halt the Milam land deal.

Henderson had also sued Milam and four other defendants on Jan. 28, 2013, alleging they committed fraud by using the sports complex proposal as a ruse to gain control of the BLM land to flip to home builders.

Milam and the defendants denied the fraud claims.

On March 14, 2013, Milam settled with the city and agreed to never do business in Henderson again.

Milam has since resurfaced in the Austin, Texas, area with a plan to build offices, a movie studio and a dance hall as part of a project called, "The Backyard at Bee Cave," in the city of Bee Cave west of Austin. The city plans to review the project's site plan after Jan. 1.

The Milam arena proposal was one of many sports venue plans that have been hatched in the Las Vegas area through the years.

The one local arena plan that did result in a new venue is the building under construction behind New York-New York's parking garage on the Strip. MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group plan to open the $375 million, 20,000-seat arena in April.

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel