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It's Fifth Third Field!!
It's Fifth Third Field!!
Mud Hens to open in April of 2002…
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Toledo Mud Hens General Manager, Joseph D. Napoli, on behalf of the team and its partners, Lucas County
Commissioners and the Gateway Consulting Group announced today that Fifth Third Bank has acquired the
naming rights for the new downtown ballpark. The Mud Hens new home will be called Fifth Third Field and
will begin play in downtown Toledo in April of 2002.
Robert A. Sullivan, President and CEO of Fifth Third Bank (Northwestern Ohio) states, "Fifth Third Field will
be a state of the art facility and Fifth Third Bank is delighted to have the honor of the naming rights. It is truly a
great day for Lucas County, the City of Toledo, The Toledo Mud Hens and Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third Field
will be more than just the home of The Toledo Mud Hens, it will host a variety of community activities and be a
symbol of pride throughout the area."
Tom Chema, President of Gateway Consulting Group said, "This is the last major piece of the equation to assure
the success of the ballpark project. This significant commitment by Fifth Third exemplifies the strong private
sector support of the Northwest Ohio community. It also demonstrates the importance of the Lucas County
Commissioners' decision to build this ballpark as a public-private partnership."
Patrick Zohn, also of Gateway said, "Fifth Third Bank's generous commitment provides the final piece of private
sector funding for the ballpark. It further supports the wisdom of the Lucas County Commissioners to use an
inclusive teamwork approach in developing this project. In so doing, Mud Hens fans will enjoy a signature
ballpark, Fifth Third Field, that is already garnering national recognition."
"We are pleased that Fifth Third Bank has stepped up to the plate to purchase the ballpark naming rights," said
Sandy Isenberg, President of the Lucas County Board of Commissioners. "This agreement furthers our firm
commitment to a public-private partnership to finance the ballpark construction. The spirit of cooperation from
the private sector, especially Fifth Third Bank, shows the high level of community support for this project."
"The commitment of Fifth Third Bank as naming-rights sponsor means the financing package for the ballpark is
complete," said Lucas County Commissioner Bill Copeland. "We promised the taxpayers that we would seek as
many private dollars as possible to ensure the use of public funds would be as minimal as possible. We have
successfully kept that commitment."
"We applaud Fifth Third Bank for making a major commitment reflective of its image as a solid corporate citizen
with the community's best interests at heart," said Lucas County Commissioner Harry Barlos. "We welcome
Fifth Third Bank to the unbeatable team of corporate sponsors that helped make a field of dreams a reality in
downtown Toledo."
General Manager of the Mud Hens, Joseph D. Napoli said, "In order to truly be a "partner" in such an important
collaboration you have to share a common philosophy. We have always recognized Fifth Third Bank as a local
leader and corporate citizen, therefore we felt, from the very beginning, that this would be an excellent
marriage."
Fifth Third Bank (Northwestern Ohio), an affiliate of Fifth Third Bancorp, has $4.1 billion in assets and currently
operates 45 full-service Banking Centers in the greater Toledo area, Findlay, Tiffin, Bowling Green, Fostoria,
Fremont, Gibsonburg, and Sandusky, plus Lambertville and Monroe in Michigan, including nine Bank Mart®
locations inside select Kroger stores.
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The
Company has $70 billion in assets, operates 17 affiliates with 965 full-service Banking Centers, including 144
Bank Mart? locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 1,905 Jeanie? ATMs in Ohio,
Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Michigan and Illinois. A leader in e-commerce, Fifth Third was named #1
e-business innovator by PC Week. The financial strength of Fifth Third's affiliate banks continues to be
recognized by rating agencies with deposit ratings of AA- and Aa2 from Standard & Poor's and Moody's,
respectively. Additionally, Fifth Third Bancorp continues to maintain the highest short-term ratings available at
A-1+ and Prime-1, and was recently recognized by Moody's with one of the highest senior debt ratings for any
U.S. bank holding company of Aa3. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Retail, Commercial, Investment
Advisors and Midwest Payment Systems, the Bank's data processing subsidiary. Investor information and press
releases can be viewed at www.53.com; press releases are also available by fax at no charge by calling 800-758-
5804, identification number 281775. The Company's common stock is traded in the over-the-counter market
through the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol "FITB."
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