Hospitality

Casino backers touted the economic benefits a $200 million slots parlor could provide to the North Central Massachusetts region, while opponents expressed concerns about traffic and property values yesterday at a public forum in Lancaster.

Residents of North Central Massachusetts can weigh in Monday on the proposed slots parlor in Leominster.

The former Hampton Inn in Worcester has been formally rechristened as a Holiday Inn Express, the hotel's general manager announced.

Following a five-month, $23 million facelift, the DCU Center officially reopened Thursday.

A new Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) team will call Worcester home, making it the 10th franchise for the league in New England. The team, which has yet to be named, will fill the baseball void created when the minor-league Worcester Tornadoes folded due to financial troubles last summer.

The 80-year-old laws that dictate liquor license allotments in Massachusetts can tend to be convoluted and complicated....

Wisconsin-based Great Wolf Resorts has begun construction at what will become Great Wolf Lodge New England in Fitchburg. The opening of the indoor water park and renovated hotel at what is now a Holiday Inn and CoCo Key water park is set for 2014, according to Great Wolf.

With just days before Leominster voters cast ballots that will decide whether plans for a proposed slots parlor can go forward, two impact studies released by city officials conclude that a gambling facility would benefit the city.

The movement of major businesses like Boston Scientific and Quest Diagnostics into Marlborough, as well as the popularity of the New England Sports Center, have developers looking at the city as a smart place to run or build a hotel.

Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain that specializes in serving up chicken sandwiches, is closer to the debut of its first stand-alone New England restaurant after receiving a special permit from the Westborough Planning Board earlier this month.