Filing stalls action on downtown land development

Paul Tanner's Nevada Stadium Partners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late Friday in what Mayor Jan Jones called "the last effort of a desperate man."

Tanner had planned to build a massive stadium complex on 61.5 acres of the rail yard, but ran into funding problems.

Old Republic Title Co. was scheduled to hold an auction of the land on Monday, but that was delayed by the bankruptcy filing.

City planners and Union Pacific officials envision a mix of offices, retail space, residential units and possibly a convention center. But Tanner's hold on a centrally located parcel has frustrated those plans.

Jones said she is anxious to proceed with Union Pacific on the project.

She expressed frustration with Tanner, who announced plans for a $750 million, 110,000-seat domed stadium in 1996, but never broke ground on the project.

"I think this (the bankruptcy filing) is the last effort of a desperate man," the mayor said. "It's obviously a stall tactic."

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