Pease Site in Sig Sauer's Crosshairs Today

, one of the largest manufacturers in Exeter, may be expanding at the Pease Tradeport.

The gunmaker has a tentative deal in place to lease a new space at 72 Pease Boulevard in Newington. Officials could approve it this morning during a special meeting of the Pease Development Authority.

The meeting starts at 7:30 a.m. Check back here, as Exeter Patch will post details as soon as we get them.

It's unclear if Sig Sauer would close its Exeter headquarters and move everything to Pease. Sig has operated out its Exeter factory since the early 1990s. It also has a shooting range in Epping.

Bud Fini, Sig Sauer's vice president of marketing, said in an e-mail to Patch that there's "nothing official at this point."

Sig Sauer, which makes firearms for military and law enforcement personnel, is headquartered in Exeter and has more than 500 employees, according to its website.

Though Sig Sauer is one of the largest manufacturers in Exeter, it's not in .

In 2010, Sig paid about $145,000 in property taxes to Exeter. paid $167,296, while paid $578,305 and paid $1,353,212.

Sig last year to expand based on strong international firearm demand. In recent months it won contracts to provide firearms for the Dutch police service and the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, among other organizations.

Today's meeting will be attended by Newington Selectmen and George Bald, commissioner of state Department of Resources & Economic Development. Officials have also carved out time at the end of the meeting press questions.

The full agenda for the meeting can be found to the right under "PDFS."