Several states have been scrambling to win Amazon over since news broke that the e-commerce giant planned to invest $5 billion in establishing a second headquarters that would create 50,000 jobs. North America has been gripped in anticipation as the Amazon headquarters great race begins.
The New York Times noted that Tucson business leaders attempted to mail a 21-foot cactus to Amazon chief executive while a Philadelphian business school had assigned students with the task of pitching the city to Amazon.
Meanwhile, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson reportedly flew to Seattle to scout out Amazon's Seattle headquarters.
"It's like 'The Amazing Race,'" he said, as per The New York Times. "You've got this cast of characters running toward the Holy Grail."
It does not stop there.
Jeff Cheney, the mayor of Frisco, Texas, has offered to build his city of 160,000 around Amazon, telling The New York Times that they had "a lot of available land where we can build to suit."
He added that his state played to win.
"We're innovators, we're forward thinkers, and we're serious," he said.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement that he expected the new headquarters to be equivalent to the Seattle headquarters.
"Amazon HQ2 will bring billions of dollars in up-front and ongoing investments, and tens of thousands of high-paying jobs," he said. "We're excited to find a second home."
In its request for proposals, Amazon emphasized the importance of "the best real estate options available" for the project, further stating that preference would be given to "a stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure."
City applications are due by Oct. 19, and NPR noted, cities in contention include Austin, Texas; New York; Boston; Chicago; Washington/Baltimore; Atlanta; Denver; Ottawa; and Toronto.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.