Even though they aren't committed to selling the Schott Buick dealership in Norwood, her lawyers said they already have received several expressions of interest.

"We'll probably try to sell it, and we've had some inquiries," said Bob Martin, Schott's trust attorney.

An appraisal filed in Hamilton County Probate Court valued the real estate at 4300 Montgomery Road at $825,000. But that doesn't include the value of the dealership. The appraisal didn't put a value on that, since it was included in the $16.8 million Schottco Corp., Schott's holding company.

As for the rest of the holdings in Schott's estate - including two 1960s-era Corvettes, nearly $3 million in artwork and plenty of Reds memorabilia - Martin said he already has offers.

"We're not in a hurry," he said. "It's not gonna be a fire sale, that's for sure."

Need a new game

Officials at Games Inc. promise big changes for the coming months. But one thing hasn't changed for the online company: big financial losses.

Games, run by downtown businessman Roger Ach, lost $3.2 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to a filing last week with the SEC.

That makes more than $13 million in losses during the last four years.

The company had predicted it would return to profitability this year after buying digital rights to several icon games from Atari Inc. It hoped to draw users to pay monthly or annual subscriptions to play the games.

But that deal is in legal limbo, with each side accusing the other of defaulting on the deal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filing says Games needs $2.5 million to operate for another year and at least another $4 million to buy game content. Chief financial officer Myles Cairns said he has investors willing to invest "way more than that" in exchange for stock or debt.

"Come the first quarter of 2005, this company will look radically different than it does today," he said.

A mixed blessing?

If you're a local company, do you want your name on the Florence Freedom stadium?

Champion Window Manufacturing & Supply still might.

But with the minor-league baseball team in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and part-owner Chuck Hildebrant facing a federal investigation, Sharonville-based Champion Window has stopped payments on its six-year, $750,000 deal with the team to put its name on the stadium overlooking Interstate 75 in Florence.

"We feel like we've been victimized throughout this process, just like anybody else," company vice president Don Jones said. "I guess it would be fair to say we're going to do a little deeper due diligence about who the owners are."

Champion is open to further talks with a group negotiating to buy the Freedom's assets out of bankruptcy, Jones said.

Strangely for a company eager to spread its name south of the Ohio River, Champion doesn't have a Northern Kentucky retail store. It operates a store adjacent to its plant in Sharonville. Jones said the company is looking for a spot in Kentucky.

---

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com