By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 1 Rossford is ready to become Hockeytown South. The Rossford Arena Amphitheater Authority unanimously approved an agreement yesterday with the Detroit Red Wings to move their top minor-league affiliate to an arena to be built off I-75 near the Ohio Turnpike. “This is the final piece in the […]
Read More… from Deal sealed to put team in Rossford; Minor-league Wings to make move in 2000
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 9 Where others see decaying warehouses long past usefulness, Dave Root sees restaurants, theaters, and – most importantly – people. In Toledo’s warehouse district, vacant or near-vacant buildings sit waiting for tenants. Mr. Root, owner of Root Outdoor Advertising, wants to fill them up again, to turn them into […]
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 1 Like generals marshaling their forces, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority officials laid out their battle plans for the agency’s upcoming levy campaign. “I believe the campaign has to begin today,” said J. Patrick Nicholson, vice chairman of the port board. He and fellow board member George Ballas were […]
Read More… from Port maps battle plan for levy; Public events, P.R. firm top list
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 11 To everyone excited about the possibility of a new baseball stadium or hockey arena in Toledo, academia had a simple message yesterday: Don’t expect too much. At a symposium at the University of Toledo, professors and others who have studied the economics of stadiums said politicians promise […]
Read More… from Panel warns that stadium promises often go unfulfilled
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 17 The long-standing battle between Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s administration and city council has flared up again, and this time it’s claimed a victim. Don Saunders, the city’s finance director for nearly three years, has resigned his post – and blamed city council for it. Mr. Saunders did not […]
Read More… from Saunders rips council, resigns as finance head
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 1 Downtown Toledo could become noticeably healthier soon: a group of Michigan companies is hoping to open a full-service health club on the bottom floors of the Fiberglas Tower. “We think it would be a great thing for the community,” said Lou Eyde, a partner in Lansing-based Eyde […]
Read More… from Downtown health club proposed; Plan would use part of HyTower
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 13 Less than 24 hours before it meets to adopt the city’s 1999 budget, the Toledo city council learned what unfilled jobs the administration wants to eliminate. When the council meets this afternoon, it will deal with a flurry of new information from the city administration – from […]
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 9 The Toledo city council’s last two months of work will finally pay off tomorrow, when the panel is expected to pass the city’s 1999 budget. Since January, the council’s committees have held hearings on Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s proposed $374 million budget. Council members have made some small […]
By Joshua Benton and Mike Wilkinson Blade Staff Writers Page A1 It was the first time – but not the last – that Toledo’s leadership made a promise it could not keep regarding the Mud Hens’ stadium. Amid fanfare and with the promise of results, more than two dozen local leaders gathered in November, 1994, […]
Read More… from Turf battles led local officials to drop ball on Mud Hens park
By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page 1 In a remarkable reversal, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner is now willing to put a Mud Hens stadium in East Toledo – but only if an ice arena is built downtown, attached to SeaGate Centre. The blockbuster proposal ties together many of the last year’s most controversial issues: the […]