An unintended consequence of the “Storm Area 51” event could help a Lincoln County family who was forced off their property by the U.S. government.

The Sheahan family have lived on the land that we now know as Area 51 for generations. Then, the government took it away for national security reasons. Now they think all of these events around the “Storm Area 51” event will give them some ammunition in their legal battle for just compensation.

To Joe Sheahan, the value of the property now known as Area 51 but that his family owned and worked as the Groom Mine, is obvious.

“Have you not turned on the Discovery Channel or the History Channel or Googled anything? Because it’ll come up as top 10 places in the world people want to go,” said Sheahan.

In 2015, the Air Force took the land through eminent domain. Since then, the Sheahan family has been engaged in a legal battle with the military over just how much they should be paid. So far, not only have the family and the Air Force not been able to agree on a dollar amount, they also clash on how the property would be classified for use.

“Our experts have analyzed it and determined that the highest and best use of this property is a tourist commercial, while the government’s expert – the singular expert – determined that the highest and best use is a rural residential,” said Sheahan family attorney Autumn Waters.

Waters said they have tried to settle with the government, whose experts have estimated the value of the land at as little as $330,000 all the way up to $5,000,000 over the years.

But now, with thousands of people planning to show up for a variety of events next month, Waters says it indicates the property could have potentially made millions for the Sheahan family as a tourist attraction.

“The government argued to our judge that the interest to see Area 51 is done. There is no more. It ended in the 1990s. So clearly this Storm Area 51 event that has been growing in popularity over the last few months establishes that that is not true,” said Waters.

The government has disputed these claims and expert analysis in legal filings. Now the Sheahans want a jury to decide.

“All along, we knew there was demand because we lived it. I think this Storm Area 51 thing, although we had nothing to do with it, it proves everything that we’ve said all along,” said Sheahan.