BLM delays closing the sale of federal land to developer

The Bureau of Land Management has delayed closing of the sale of about 480 acres of federal land in the city of Henderson to developer Chris Milam to Feb. 6.

The move comes after the city attorney said in a Nov. 29 letter to the federal agency that Milam initially proposed a sports arena project for the site but then switched gears and began promoting the land for residential development.

The closing was originally scheduled for today, but the BLM delayed the escrow closing date by 40 days, said Kirsten Cannon, a BLM spokeswoman in the agency's Southern Nevada office in Las Vegas. The delay was agreed to by all parties, she said.

In his letter to the BLM, Henderson City Attorney Josh Reid asked the agency to refrain from issuing a land patent that would give control of the site to Milam's Silver State LLC. Reid argued in his letter that the deal "appears to be tainted by fraudulent representations by Christopher Milam."

Milam and a representative could not be reach for comment Thursday, but in a Nov. 30 letter to the mayor, Milam denied the claim that there was a fraudulent representation.

Henderson spokesman Bud Cranor said the delay will give Reid and city officials with representatives of Milam and the BLM some time to determine the fate of the land purchase and the proposed sports complex.

"Attorneys are talking," Cranor said Thursday.

Milam initially targeted the BLM land in Henderson for a $650 million sports arena project and successfully persuaded city officials to nominate the land for sale by the BLM.

In his Nov. 29 letter to BLM, Reid said, as a way of backgrounding the BLM, that the city had recommended Milam's Silver State LLC as the land purchase bidder based on "representations and assurances" that Milam would develop the site for a sports arena and that the project was "economically viable."

Milam had dubbed the sports project the Las Vegas National Sports Center.

But a day earlier on Nov. 28, Milam gave the city a letter that city officials found challenging to interpret. On one hand, Milam wrote that the sports facility project was not viable but also said in the letter that he wanted to work with the city to "reshape the project into a development we will all be proud of."

Milam did not specify a scope or description of a reshaped sports facility development.

Cranor said the city could get a better handle on the future of the sports venue proposal during the next five to six weeks.

"We'll see where it goes in the next 40 days," he said.

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273.