updated 11:18 p.m. ET July 6, 2007

SURRY, Va. - A property owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was used as the “main staging area for housing and training the pit bulls involved” in an alleged dogfighting operation, according to court documents.

The papers, filed by federal authorities, give details for the first time about what authorities contend was a long-running dogfighting venture. Vick is not named in the documents.

Vick is unlikely to be indicted, ESPN reported. Authorities have told the Falcons and the NFL that there has not been any evidence that can be tied to Vick with the alleged dogfighting ring, ESPN reported.

The law enforcement authorities have privately told league and team officials that at least three people are expected to be indicted but the identities of those individuals were unknown.

On Friday, federal agents searched the property for a second time, using a backhoe to dig in an area about 10 feet wide by 20 feet wide. They finished their work at about 4:30 p.m. and declined to answer reporters’ questions as they left.

The documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond and obtained Friday by The Associated Press contain the address of the Vick property that has been at the center of the investigation.

According to the documents, dog fights have been sponsored by “Bad Newz Kennels” at the property since at least 2002. For the events, participants and dogs traveled from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas and other states.

Members of the venture also knowingly transported, delivered and received dogs for animal fighting, the documents state.

Fifty-four pit bulls were recovered from the property during searches in April, along with a “rape stand,” used to hold dogs in place for mating; an electric treadmill modified for dogs; and a bloodied piece of carpeting, the documents said.

The documents said the fights usually occurred late at night or in the early morning and would last several hours. The winning dog would win from “100’s up to 1,000’s of dollars,” and participants and spectators also bet on the dogfights.

Before fights, the participating dogs of the same sex would be weighed and bathed, according to the filings. Opposing dogs would be washed to remove any poison or narcotic placed on the dog’s coat that could affect the other dog’s performance. Sometimes participants would not feed a dog before the fight to “make it more hungry for the other dog,” the documents said.

Fights would end when one dog died or with the surrender of the losing dog, which was sometimes put to death by drowning, strangulation, hanging, gun shot, electrocution or some other method, according to the documents. The property has an aboveground swimming pool, and investigators were seen looking into the pool Friday.

During a June search of the property, investigators uncovered the graves of seven pit bulls that were killed by members of “Bad Newz Kennels” following sessions to test whether the dogs would be good fighters, the documents said.

Members of “Bad Newz Kennels” also sponsored and exhibited fights in other parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey and other states, the filings said.

On Vick’s Web site, he lists his birthplace as Newport News, Va., “a.k.a. BadNews.”

Friday, federal agents used shovels and heavy equipment to search the Vick property, where an informant told authorities as many as 30 dogs could be buried.

A backhoe-front loader was brought in and used to excavate a cleared area on the property. The material found to be of interest was transferred into numerous large, ice-filled coolers and loaded into a rental truck, which left the property.

Some of the investigators wore T-shirts reading: “Federal Agent USDA-OIG.”

An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewing the investigation from a helicopter could not clearly identify the evidence being collected.

Investigators were digging in an area about 50 yards behind the large white house on the property. About 15 people could be seen on the property, which includes several kennels surrounded by pens made of metal fencing, other kennels and outbuildings.

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