Let's get this out of the way up front. The deal to keep Goodyear's headquarters in Akron is not final just yet. But Goodyear's board has approved the plan, and all indications are it's as good as done. The tire giant gathered the governor, Akron's mayor and the press to announce that they're staying put in the rubber city. Goodyear Chairman and CEO Bob Keegan likened the process to buying a house.
Bob Keegan: An offer has been accepted but we have yet to close. So we have a few things to do before we close on the deal. However, we are optimistic we can close this agreement soon once all the funding support is finalized.
Goodyear is waiting for state approval of financial incentives to keep the company in Northeast Ohio.
South Carolina and Virginia had been wooing the tire giant, though Goodyear says it gave priority to Akron. This deal, though, is more than just a decision not to leave. Goodyear will actually be selling its buildings and property to California-based Industrial Realty Group. IRG will build the new headquarters on the site, and eventually redevelop the old facility once Goodyear moves into the new one. IRG also plans to develop retail and commercial space around the Goodyear complex under the name "Akron Riverwalk."
The plan is a relief to Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, who helped the secure the deal.
Don Plusquellic: There was a day when our community took for granted companies large and small. You know, they're here, they've always been here. But the world has changed.
Still reeling from the decline of the rubber industry in the past few decades, Plusquellic says it's even harder to keep big companies in town now that technology allows them to operate just about anywhere. After the event, he said there was a lot of fear that Goodyear would follow its competitors out of Akron.
Don Plusquellic: I hear this periodically, you know the people who sit and drink a few beers and are cynical or whatever, 'Oh Goodyear was never going to leave,' well, how is that realistic when we look at history of companies leaving Cleveland, leaving this area, three of the four have already left. It was absolutely an opportunity for some community to come in here and attract them away.
Governor Strickland told the crowd that it's hard to imagine Akron without Goodyear. That's partly because the company employs nearly 3,000 people in Summit County. And, that's not including all the contractors and vendors the company supports.
IRG, the developer, says much of the construction and renovations will be complete within 2-5 years. Stu Lichter is IRG's president and he believes his firm's plan to redevelop the neighborhood with shops, restaurants and hotels is what convinced Goodyear to stay.
Stu Lichter: And, I think when we showed them that, they got really excited about the prospect that 'if we can do approximately as well as you can do leaving, then why leave if you can do this.'
Lichter's company is the same one that developed Canal Place in Akron. While IRG would not specify how much money Goodyear will have to pay for its portion of the complex, the developer says the total plan will cost $900 million, with about a fifth of that coming from public funding.
The leaders gathered the press at Goodyear's World Technical Center, which is right next to where their new headquarters is expected to be built. As snow fell out the window, Mayor Plusquellic joked he's glad the deal was signed before winter started.
Don Plusquellic: And I wouldn't have said this during the negotiations, Bob, but just look outside the window (laughter) and you automatically know what at least half of the communities have as the lead argument for them: come down where the sun shines everyday.
But after 108 years in the city, Goodyear is clearly not deterred by a little snow.