Demolition of the Toledo Sports Arena begins Aug. 8, but no one is sure when the first wall will come tumbling down.

Work continues through Aug. 6 to remove asbestos from the inside of the venerable East Toledo institution, home for decades to concerts, hockey games and basketball games, auto shows, and bowling tournaments.

Utilities will be turned off Aug. 7. And the next day, B&B Wrecking, the contractor, begins demolition.

It's unclear how much interior demolition will take place that day before the first exterior brick falls, said Mike White, the city's commissioner of engineering for new project development.

Locations for safe viewing of the demolition will be forthcoming, said Brian Schwartz, spokesman for Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

First Published July 27, 2007, 10:26 a.m.