Local politicians are scrambling to keep the toy company in Rhode Island. The post Hasbro is considering moving from Pawtucket to Boston appeared first on Boston.com.

In spite of red flags, local leaders were not aware the toy maker was considering relocating. “What will this mean for Pawtucket? More empty buildings?” asked the CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “We cannot have that.

Hasbro made headlines a few times in the past seven years. In December 2018, then Gov. Gina Raimondo promised to do whatever it took to keep Hasbro. Then in April 2019, Massachusetts made a pitch for the company to move there, but Hasbro remained in Pawtucket.

According to the BBJ, the company’s lease on its Pawtucket headquarters is up in 2025. Hasbro is the second major toy brand to consider making Boston its home. Last year, Lego announced that it would be leaving its longtime North American headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut for Boston beginning in 2025.

Ever since Jack Connors, the beloved Boston advertising mogul who became one of the city’s largest philanthropists, died in July, I’ve been conducting a thought experiment with some of Rhode Island’s most influential leaders.

Hasbro – named for the two brothers, Henry and Helal Hassenfeld, who launched the company in Providence as a maker of pencil boxes in 1923 – dates to the time when Rhode Island’s capital city was an industrial powerhouse.

We have an update on the possibility of Hasbro moving its headquarters out of Pawtucket, both Governor Dan McKee and house speaker Joe Shekarchi have now met with the toy and entertainment company's CEO.

Dan McKee met with the CEO of Hasbro on Thursday. This comes after the toy-making company confirmed its search for a new headquarters location in a statement earlier this week. City and state officials said they will work to keep Hasbro in the state of Rhode Island after the news came out.