A former real estate development partner of Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks is suing him over who owns a portion of the land near Rangers Ballpark in Arlington – land included in the proposed sale of the baseball team.

Steiner + Associates, a Columbus, Ohio-based firm Hicks began working with more than five years ago, is asking a state district judge in Tarrant County to determine who has rights to 45 acres that was to be the site of Glorypark, a planned $510 million, 1.3 million-square-foot shopping, hotel, entertainment, office and residential development around the stadium.

The development was shelved in 2008. The suit was filed before Hicks announced a deal to sell the Rangers.

Pending approval by current team owners and Major League Baseball, the team's ownership could change by April 4.

As part of the sale, 153 acres or the development rights on land now held by Ballpark Real Estate LP will be transferred to the new owners.

Arlington owns some of the land in question. As part of its master agreement with the Rangers, the city agreed to convey the land to the Rangers owner when it was ready to be developed.

Steiner's lawsuit asserts that Glorypark Town Center LLC is 75 percent owned by Hicks' Ballpark Real Estate LP and 25 percent owned by Steiner's Arlingtonpar LLC and that Steiner is still entitled to its stake in the Glorypark land.

Hicks told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Tuesday that the suit has no merit and will not prevent the sale of the team.