Worcester jumps into the ring for Hasbro
An office building is planned for left field at Polar Park, and city officials think Hasbro could be a tenant.
The first phase of Worcester Red Sox development in the Canal District, which includes the stadium, is expected to be done by early 2021.
Worcester has made “preliminary inroads” as the city looks to lure Hasbro from Pawtucket, and a possible location could be within the $240 million ballpark and mixed-use development that will be the new home of the Pawtucket Red Sox.
According to emails obtained via a records request, city officials are jumping into the state’s talks to bring the toy manufacturer north to Massachusetts.
In an April 23 email to Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito’s office, Chief Development Officer Michael Traynor asked the state to help the city court the company.
“We are very interested in bringing Hasbro to Worcester; both to the Left Field Office building you heard about and their manufacturing operations as well,” he said, referencing an 96,000-square-foot office building that is planned to overlook left field of the ballpark.
The Pawtucket-based firm, currently with a market value of $12.7 billion, has publicly said it is mulling whether or not to leave Rhode Island, and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) has publicly said it is working to lure the toy company out of Rhode Island.
Emails show that the city has reached out to the MOBD about including Worcester in those discussions.
In a statement, MOBD said it is "working to establish a dialogue with the company."
Jacob Sanders, who handles intergovernmental affairs for City Hall, told Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDigi) Executive Director Timothy Loew in an April 19 email that the city has already made “preliminary inroads," but Sanders did not say with whom he was in contact.
In response, Loew said he could connect the city with Hasbro executives. None of the emails obtained by WBJ include communication to or from the company.
In a statement late Tuesday, City Manager Edward Augustus said the city isn't formally pursuing the company and no city employee has had direct contact with Hasbro.
Hasbro has not returned the WBJ's requests for comment.
CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story said the city has made "preliminary inroads" with Hasbro executives. The email from Worcester official Jacob Sanders didn't offer context about who he was in contact with. City officials maintain they have not been in direct contact with Hasbro executives.
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