Oklahoma State Wins Eminent Domain Battle

Tuesday, July 24th 2007, 8:14 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State University can acquire through eminent domain the final piece of property it needs for a $316 million athletic village, a judge ruled Monday. The decision by Payne County Judge Donald Worthington came after nearly a year of legal battles over the tiny ranch house a half-block from campus.

Property owners Kevin and Joel McCloskey plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court, a process that could take several years, their attorney said Monday. If the brothers win their appeal, they could get control of the property back, despite university construction on it.

In the meantime, OSU holds the title to the property containing the 631-square-foot house, can demolish the building and can begin construction of the athletic complex.

A jury will decide after the appeal how much the brothers will get for the property.

``They'll probably level it this week,'' said Joel McCloskey after the ruling. ``I'm not going to tear it down.''

Randall Elliott, attorney for the Board of Regents, said the university ``bent over backwards'' to offer the brothers a fair price for the land.

He argued that several generous offers were made for the property, up to more than twice the $25,000 they paid for it in 2005, but that it never seemed enough.

At the center of the fight was whether OSU could use eminent domain, or the taking of private land for public use, to build a sprawling athletic complex for use only by university athletes. Construction has already begun.

Harlan Hentges, attorney for the McCloskeys, argued that the university did not act in good faith in trying to buy the house, instead using ``the specter of eminent domain to cast a pall on negotiations.''

``(There was) a designed inability for anyone negotiating on behalf of the university to say whether or not eminent domain would be used,'' Hentges said.

The McCloskeys maintained their home was worth more than OSU's offers of $50,000, $54,000, $59,000 and $62,000 because of its proximity to campus and the task of finding a similar property to replace it. Their final counter to OSU asked for more than $89,000 for the property.

In April, a judge ruled the brothers could not challenge the validity of the university's Board of Regents, which initiated proceedings to acquire the home.

The planned athletic complex includes an indoor practice complex, outdoor practice fields and a baseball stadium. It is thanks in large part to a $165 million gift from oilman alumnus T. Boone Pickens, the biggest donation ever made to an NCAA sports program.

Related stories:

12/22/2005 - OSU President Regrets Treatment Of Nearby Stillwater Residents

2/21/2006 - Document Indicates OSU Planned Eminent Domain Use

7/28/2006 - Regents Give OSU Authority To Use Eminent Domain For Athletic Village

12/12/2006 - Stillwater Eminent Domain Court Hearing Postponed

2/5/2007 - State Supreme Court Denies Request To Remove Payne County Judge

3/1/2007 - Garden Planned At Stillwater Eminent Domain Site

7/12/2007 - Trial Will Decide OSUâ€™s Eminent Domain Issue

7/22/2007 - Eminent Domain Trial To Begin

7/23/2007 - Contested Property Trial Begins