And according to Steve Tervooren, an Anchorage attorney representing private property owner Gary Lundgren in the case, final resolution could be well over a year away.

Meanwhile, according to Archie Giddings, public works director for the city of Wasilla, the city's fiscal 2009 budget shows the facility's annual operating budget at nearly $1.1 million with annual revenues from fees at $825,000 to support operations.

Both Giddings and Bruce Urban, recreation and cultural services manager for the city of Wasilla, said they were pretty happy with the fact that rental fees for sport complex facilities brought in as much as they did.

Users have included the Avalanche Junior Hockey League, trade shows, high school graduation, and private social events, including weddings. Such facilities don't normally pay for themselves with user fees, they said.

What the budget for the sports complex, promoted and authorized under the administration of then Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin, did not take into account was years of legal fees.

The sports complex opened March 6, 2004. Construction ran at $12.9 million, not counting thousands of dollars in attorney fees over arguments regarding value of the land on which the 102,000-square-foot complex was built.

According to Tervooren, there is still a dispute over the final legal description of some 110 acres along the Parks Highway in Wasilla on which the city ultimately dropped its claim, and the final accurate recorded replat paperwork on that land has yet to be agreed upon by both sides.

"Until he (Lundgren) knows what he actually owns and it is reflected in public records, he is pretty hamstrung as to what he can do with his property," Tervooren said.

His client also feels that the value of the land should be determined based on its value at the time that replatting issues are completed, he said.

The history of the sports complex goes back to May 1998, when there was a purchase agreement between the city and the Nature Conservancy for the city to buy the 126-acre parcel for $146,500. At the time the city sought to purchase the property for a tourist development project.

In August 1999, the Nature Conservancy sold the property to Lundgren, along with other parcels, Giddings said. The city subsequently filed suit to enforce its agreement to purchase the property. In July 2000, the city was granted summary judgment. Lundgren appealed and in July 2002, the court determined that ownership was still undecided.

In December 2002, the city filed for a declaration of taking under eminent domain law to obtain the property for public purchase, specifically for the sports complex. In March 2003, the court confirmed the city's authority and necessity for taking the property and construction of the sports complex began.

The city paid Lundgren $174,725, the city's appraised value, for the property as part of its 2002 declaration of taking. A valuation hearing was held in April 2007 with a master appraiser to determine the property value for the 60-acre parcel on which the sports complex was built, and associated rights-of-way. The appraiser determined the value to be $835,753 and the city paid Lundgren the balance, $661,028.

Still, without the final paperwork with detailed legal description of the land the city eventually released its eminent domain on, Lundgren can't do anything with his property, Tervooren said.

Once the Supreme Court reviews briefs from both sides, an oral argument will be scheduled, sometime within the next three to nine months, and Tervooren said he expects a final ruling a few months after that.

Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaska

journal.com.