A.C. auction of Bader Field postponed until August

Atlantic City's attempt to auction off its defunct municipal airfield, Bader Field, has been postponed until Aug. 4, city officials said.

Terenik did not say how many, if any, bids were received before Thursday's original deadline.

Bader Field, a historic airstrip on Albany Avenue leading into the city, once fetched an $800 million offer from a company contemplating a casino complex. It was used as a site for several music festivals.

The city had made a deal with a company to lease the field and build a youth sports complex, but the deal was never approved by the state. Bader Field Sports, however, has filed in court to stop the auction because of its pending lease.

The city, trying to get out from under hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, is hoping for a bid of at least $150 million for the 143-acre site, which does not include the old Surf Stadium and a nearby Flyers SkateZone. Stockton University, which is building a campus in Atlantic City, is expected to use part of the site for athletic facilities.

City Council President Marty Small said that if no meaningful bids were received and nothing was accepted, "all the focus should be on executing the lease" for the youth sports complex, a proposal that contemplates big youth tournaments and practice facilities in a complex similar to New York City's Chelsea Piers. Glenn Straub, owner of the defunct Revel casino, also has expressed interest in the site.

In other news, Atlantic City's council on Wednesday approved on final reading, by a vote of 5-4, to extend Boardwalk bicycle hours by two hours until noon, the same as adjacent Ventnor. Some residents of the Ocean Club condominiums objected at the meeting, saying the bicyclists make it hard to cross the Boardwalk.