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.
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.
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.