Here's Montgomery County Amazon HQ2 Odds: New List

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County was ranked in the top ten of cities or metro areas trying to land Amazon's second headquarters, according to an oddsmaker. Northern Virginia and DC placed first and second in the new list.

Bovada released its list of odds for the 20 finalists to get Amazon's 2nd HQ on Aug. 24, and Northern Virginia was at the top of the list with odds of +240. D.C. had odds of +350, followed by Austin at +400 and Boston at +450, according to OddsShark. Montgomery County was seventh with +1200.

Montgomery County is the only county in the country on the short list. The second Amazon headquarters will bring a potential 50,000 jobs to the selected location and invest over $5 billion. Odds Shark reports 238 cities and regions applied to bring Amazon to their area. The D.C. area owns three spots on the short list -- New York is the only other metro area on the list with more than one (New York and Newark, N.J.).

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"Based out of Seattle, Washington, it was inevitable that Amazon would branch out. The company states it expects to invest over $5 billion in construction to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs to whichever area it heads next," OddsShark wrote. "From 2010 to 2016, Amazon estimates its investments in Seattle added an additional $38 billion to the city’s economy."

An Amazon job listing posted to the DC metropolitan area in July stirred up talk about what it means for frontrunners of the second headquarters in the region.

The economic development manager position involves working on economic incentives with state and local government, as well as chambers of commerce and "other key public/private stakeholder groups." It also involves "supporting the site selection process." The position does not mention working with the federal government. Candidates must have eight or more years of economic incentive or business development experience.

But while the DC area sites have emerged as HQ2 frontrunners, Amazon isn't indicating the job has any ties to the HQ2 site. An Amazon spokesman told the Puget Sound Business Journal the position isn't related to HQ2 and could be based in either DC or Seattle. Amazon has not posted the job in any other location, according to the Journal.

Luring Amazon's second headquarters to Maryland — which would bring an estimated 50,000 well-paying jobs to the region — is important enough that Gov. Larry Hogan proposed a $5 billion incentive package to boost the state's chances of snagging HQ2. Potential sites have offered incentives to lure the e-commerce company to their areas. While Maryland approved Hogan's $5 billion in tax incentives for Amazon, Virginia and DC have not publicly released their pitches for Amazon, WAMU reports.

Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, a watchdog looking at economic incentives, told WAMU the DC area doesn't need to offer incentives because of its large skilled workforce, transportation and nearby airports. However, the competitive nature of the selection process means officials can be pressured to offer incentives.

Maryland's package of state income, property, and sales tax credits and exemptions give the state the most competitive bid possible for Amazon's second headquarters, HQ2, the governor said.

"Amazon sent a clear signal that Maryland truly is open for business by selecting Montgomery County as one of an elite group of contenders for this transformative project," said Hogan said in a news release. "HQ2 is the single greatest economic development opportunity in a generation, and we're committing all of the resources we have to bring it home to Maryland."

Maryland officials want Amazon to build a 100-acre campus in White Flint or another site in North Bethesda.
Hogan's incentive plan is the second most lucrative among the 20 sites still in the race for the project, says The Washington Post, only New Jersey has offered more perks, at $7 billion.

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