City budgets more money for tennis fight

A dispute over cracked tennis courts at a northwest Las Vegas park has cost the city twice as much as expected in legal fees, but that is still less than the millions of dollars at stake should the city lose the case.

The Las Vegas City Council has allocated another $800,000 for legal expenses in the dispute over courts at the Stacy and Amanda Darling Memorial Tennis Center, which is part of the Kellogg-Zaher Sports Complex at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Buffalo Drive.

That brings the total budgeted to about $2.3 million. Original estimates called for about $1 million in legal expenses.

The city and Asphalt Products Corp. have been in arbitration since late 2005 over the tennis courts.

APCO was the general contractor on the $40 million park, and the city has alleged that the courts were not built properly.

But APCO has said the city is to blame because design warnings were ignored. The company is seeking $7 million in damages and interest and legal costs, which could go as high as an additional $2 million, said Bill Henry, Las Vegas' senior litigation attorney.

Two arbitration sessions have taken place, and another is scheduled Jan. 7.

Some City Council members balked at the ever-increasing price tag.

"Don't we have attorneys in-house who could represent us?" Councilman Steve Wolfson asked.

"The answer is yes and no," Henry replied. Staff attorneys do not have the same expertise as Harrison, Kemp and Jones, the firm representing the city. And the case would consume too much staff time, he said.

If the council walked away from arbitration, Henry added, it would be conceding the case.

"This is a fight that we did not pick," Henry said. "The consequences of just stopping would be at least $7 million."

Representatives of APCO could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the tennis courts are cracked but still usable, said Lonny Zimmerman, who manages the tennis center and other city athletic facilities.

Still, the cracks are noticeable and "need to be addressed in the relatively near future," he said.