Caggiano

Stalled at the county executive's door, Michael A. Caggiano is taking his campaign to build a new arena to Baltimore County churches and Rotary clubs, restaurants and meeting rooms -- anywhere he can pitch his plans to the people.He may be in danger of losing the war, so he aims to win some battles.In a continuing series of meetings, Caggiano is campaigning like a polished politician, smoothly fielding questions and pushing the right buttons for communities starved for a slice of progress.

His plans for a 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena on thin ice already, hockey team owner Michael A. Caggiano now faces his biggest hurdle: Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger.Fearing the proposed County Coliseum in Lansdowne-Halethope would compete with city sports complexes -- existing and planned -- Ruppersberger yesterday offered no hope of county cash to help bankroll Caggiano's dream."Why do we want to compete with the city, when the city is our tourism base for the region?"

Four months after standing on a plot in southwest Baltimore County to unveil his dream of building a new arena, the owner of Baltimore's professional hockey team pulled the plug yesterday on the project.Baltimore Bandits President Michael A. Caggiano killed his plans for the County Coliseum after he was unable to persuade County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger to free up public dollars to help develop the $42 million, 11,500-seat facility."Over the last couple of months, we tried everything," Caggiano said yesterday.

On January 10, 2006, BERTL ZIPPERT (nee Selig), beloved wife of the late Paul Zippert; beloved mother of Michael Zippert and Randy Zippert; devoted mother-in-law of Beth Zippert and Kimberly Zippert;loving grandmother of Elizabeth and Vincent Caggiano, Helena, Erica, Allison and Evan Zippert; loving great grandmother of Nevae Caggiano. Services at SOL LEVINSON AND BROS INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road at Mount Wilson Lane on Thursday, January 12, at 10 A.M. Interment Chevra Ahavas Chesed Cemetery, Randallstown.

Out to make a deal, he set his sights on a new Baltimore hockey team skating on very thin ice.For a month, he pored over the minor league franchise's fragile financial figures, until finally he spotted signs of promise amid the rubble.Then Michael A. Caggiano, 39, decided it was time to score. In February 1996, the Baltimore businessman bought the club, the Baltimore Bandits, in the midst of its first year and already fighting off opponents and creditors.Seven months later, Caggiano is aiming to lay a new sheet of ice to smooth his team's path.

BALTIMORE BANDITS' owner Michael A. Caggiano's plan to build a $42 million sports arena in Baltimore County's Lansdowne is poorly thought out. But even if that were not the case, its chances of success -- financially and in terms of revitalizing the county's west side -- are highly questionable. Mr. Caggiano needs as much as $20 million in public money, yet he has offered little more than vague promises of more jobs and a higher profile for the county to justify why taxpayers should underwrite this arena.

He's not the first to dream of a sports arena rising in Baltimore County, and as he skates ahead with plans for a 10,000-seat County Coliseum, hockey owner Michael A. Caggiano hopes the past is not prologue.In 1974, there was talk of building a 10,000-seat arena at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium. It fizzled.In 1985, there was a push to replace Memorial Stadium with a new facility in Lansdowne. It lost out to Camden Yards.And in 1990, talk again focused on the fairgrounds, this time with a 22,000-seat multipurpose arena.

The owner of Baltimore's pro hockey team laid out plans yesterday for a 10,000-seat coliseum in southwest Baltimore County, a project that would serve as the county's first sports and entertainment complex and serve up direct competition for the Baltimore Arena.The name: County Coliseum.The price: $42 million.The owner: Michael A. Caggiano, 39, the upstart businessman who bought the financially troubled Baltimore Bandits hockey team this year and now wants to build it a new home.Yesterday, on a brisk sunny morning, Caggiano stood at the 33-acre site in the Beltway Business Park and unveiled his ambitious plans to transform the mostly barren land into a thriving complex by 1998.

The AHL Bandits have looked at different sites around the area for the purpose of eventually constructing an arena, and among them is a 33-acre tract near the Beltway and Washington Boulevard in Baltimore County.Leroy Merritt, a developer who owns the land, said he met team owner Mike Caggiano on Tuesday, but, "We haven't signed a contract yet." He added: "We're close, pretty close" about a potential deal for the land, an assessment Caggiano said is "premature.""It's premature until a contract is signed and there's lots of uncertainty at this point.

The Spirit has agreed to a two-year extension of its lease that will keep the team at the Baltimore Arena through the 1999-2000 season.The old lease is set to expire after the 1997-98 season. Details of the new lease, negotiated by Spirit general manager Drew Forrester and Arena operator Centre Management, were not disclosed.In making the announcement, Mayor Kurt Schmoke said, "We're excited about the commitment the Spirit has shown to the city and the Arena. This is further proof that Baltimore sports teams see real value in playing at a downtown facility."