Toledo Talk "Bass Pro-related Toledo Talk threads" id 3707

The Downtown Latte coffee shop hosts regular meetings called New Urbanism. The next meeting is on Tuesday, June 28 from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Developers, business owners, and residents attend the meetings. They're expecting 60 people at Tuesday's meeting. I think it was at the last meeting when someone mentioned that Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World would occupy the old Edison plant on the east side. To get some of the "word on the street" info, this meeting might be a good place to be.

Toledo never lost Bass Pro because Toledo was never in the running for Bass Pro. Northern Wood County was the first choice for Bass Pro. If you recall, it was Toledo who kidnapped the Bass Pro president, or whoever was visiting here, and took him on a helicopter ride of Toledo. That Bass Pro dude was here to see Wood County, not Toledo.

Remember at the end of January when the Bass Pro president was flying over Toledo in a helicopter, and the Central Catholic band played the Notre Dame University fight song because the Bass Pro president graduated from Notre Dame, and Toledo had billboards setup welcoming the Bass Pro president? Well, the Bass Pro president's primary reason for being in northwest Ohio that day was to see northern Wood County not Toledo. Carty "heard" about the Wood County visit and kidnapped the Bass Pro president.

On Friday, Feb 10, [2006] Bob Frantz gave a little info on his "Eye of Toledo" show about Bass Pro possibly coming to northwest Ohio.

Bob said the Bass Pro president was NOT impressed [nor] pleased with Toledo's red carpet treatment at the end of January with the marching band, the billboards, McCloskey giving the prez the kitchen sink, and the media attention. The Bass Pro president didn't want this crap.

He wasn't in northwest Ohio to see Toledo. He was here to see the land out in the Crossroads area of Rossford. He was doing Toledo a favor by taking some time to see the Marina District, but he wanted the Toledo visit to be low-profiled.

Frantz's starter info on Friday confirmed my hunch that northern Wood County is the preferred place in the mind of the Bass Pro president. Bob said Wood County and Bass Pro have had discussions for 14 years, and the discussions have grown more serious over the past 2 1/2 years.

Bob also mentioned that Rossford and Toledo have had a joint economic development zone agreement since 1991. Bob said no one in the Ford administration was aware of this agreement. Bob said Bass Pro is highly interested in being close to the intersection of I-80 and I-75.

The Marina District land is 125 acres. The new Wood County Bass Pro development will occupy 225 acres.

About the Rossford-Toledo JEDZ, excerpts from a Jun 14, 2006 Toledo Free Press story :

Guided by attorney and former mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski, Toledo and Rossford formed a joint economic development zone agreement in 1992. To fulfill the agreement, Toledo provides water to a designated area in Rossford. In return, Rossford pays Toledo for the water services and gives Toledo a substantial portion of income tax revenue — 27 cents of every dollar generated from employee income tax and net business profits.

It's probably a tough calculation to do, but has anyone projected how much money Toledo will make off of the Bass Pro development five to ten years from now?