Rossford officials look for additional teams at new arena

By Joshua Benton Blade Staff Writer Page C1 Hockey pucks might not be the only things flying around the planned Rossford arena. If city officials get their wish, they could be joined by soccer balls, basketballs or even the occasional football. Arena proponents have been in talks with minor league basketball, football and soccer league […]

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Deal sealed to put team in Rossford; Minor-league Wings to make move in 2000

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 […]

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Billboard firm’s owner covets downtown village; Dave Root wants to turn a patch of Toledo into a mini-version of New York City’s SoHo

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 […]

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Port maps battle plan for levy; Public events, P.R. firm top list

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 […]

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Panel warns that stadium promises often go unfulfilled

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 […]

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Saunders rips council, resigns as finance head

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 […]

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Downtown health club proposed; Plan would use part of HyTower

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 […]

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Toledo ready to approve 1999 budget

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 […]

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Turf battles led local officials to drop ball on Mud Hens park

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, […]

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