Ex-Marlins owner Huizenga dead at 80

H. Wayne Huizenga, a college dropout who built a business empire that included Blockbuster Entertainment, AutoNation and three pro sports franchises, died Thursday night at his home, said Valerie Hinkell, a longtime assistant. He was 80. The cause was cancer, said Bob Henninger, executive vice-president of Huizenga Holdings. Starting with a single garbage truck in 1968, Huizenga built Waste Management Inc. into a Fortune 500 company. Huizenga was founding owner of baseball’s Florida Marlins and the NHL Florida Panthers — expansion teams that played their first games in 1993. He bought the NFL Miami Dolphins and their stadium for US$168 million in 1994 from the children of founder Joe Robbie. He had sold all three teams by 2009. The Marlins won the 1997 World Series.