The action traces back to the beginning of this year when the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, the agency which oversees the state-owned Meadowlands Sports Complex, picked Mill's and Mack-Cali's $1.3 billion Meadowlands Xanadu entertainment/retail/office proposal over the other two semifinalists--comparably sized projects proposed by Hartz and by the California-based Westfield of America (see earlier stories). Almost immediately, Hartz initiated legal action--subsequently dismissed--to block the decision.

The latest action charges that the NJSEA "acted far outside of its powers in pursuing the project," according to Emanual Stern, president of Hartz, and that "the selection ignored vital public concerns of traffic and regional business." The suit also claims that the state agency hasn't allowed enough public input, and that the Mills/Mack-Cali project doesn't conform to "the spirit or the letter of the NJSEA's own development criteria."

"This is the most important redevelopment project in the area, and everyone here deserves an explanation of its impact and appropriateness," Stern says. "The ability to have public questions and input before selection is final is critical, and hence we are pursuing legal remedies."

Meadowlands Xanadu's mixed uses would be developed around the existing Continental Arena, home of the NBA Nets and NHL Devils franchises. Under the Mills/Mack-Cali proposal, the arena could be retained as the ongoing home of the two, or converted to another use, perhaps a convention center, at a later date. The Hartz proposal would have razed the arena.

NJSEA and Mills/Mack-Cali officials say negotiations to cut a final development deal are ongoing, and that such a deal could be in place within weeks. And, according to sources, negotiations between all of the parties are underway to potentially settle the legal challenge out of court.