Goodyear's Akron headquarters building has been home for 80 years, and state and local leaders have been fighting to keep both the tire maker's legacy and its 3,000 jobs in town.
Today, Ohio's Development Financing Advisory Council and the Ohio Tax Credit Authority will meet in Columbus with a financial incentive package for Goodyear on the docket.
The city of Akron has already spent millions acquiring 600 acres for a proposed East Akron site, near Goodyear's existing technology center.
Key to the deal is California developer Stuart Lichter, who would take over the current Goodyear campus, after developing the new site. But with no deals actually signed, all parties are talking 'off the record' only.
Closely watching from the sidelines is Team NEO, the business marketing arm of regional Chambers of Commerce. Even without confirmation from officials, VP Carin Rockind says there's been a feeling of optimism about the possibilities.
Carin Rockind: It's great news should Goodyear decide to stay here, and it's great news to see real estate developers interested in the region.
Lichter is also the lynch-pin in redevelopment plans for the former Hoover Plant in North Canton, which was purchased in January by a German company and then closed in September, idling 750 workers.
The Stark Development Board is also not talking, but Lichter did tell reporters last week - he IS going to buy and re-develop that aging industrial property, and that both deals should be completed, by years' end.
Rick Jackson, 90.3.