Dear Amazon, Bring Your Headquarters Here!
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mayors from all over the country, and across the state, are working to woo Amazon into building their second headquarters in their city.
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty wanted to be the first to file an offer for Amazon.
"We have a $500 million tax break over 20 years which is a 50 percent TIF, tax increment financial plan," he said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said, "I think one of our incentives is our talent pool."
The deadline for offers to host Amazon's headquarters is Thursday. Between ten and 20 cities and towns across Massachusetts are scrambling to sell their locations.
Governor Charlie Baker said he hoped all of the bids show what the state has to offer.
"It'll give them a real solid sense I believe, of just how much talent, and how much experience, and how much vitality, enthusiasm, and diversity we can bring to this," Baker said.
Boston has the old Suffolk Downs race track, but the Mayor of Lawrence says the Merrimack Valley has easier access to the rest of New England.
New Bedford offers cheap land with its city-owned public golf course.
South Weymouth has a sprawling defunct Naval Air Station with required zoning already in place.
There have also been overtures from Somerville and Billerica, but both are considered long shots.
Billerica Selectmen Chair Andrew DeSlaurier said not to rule Billerica out too fast, though.
Planners there think the town would be a good alternative to fighting Boston's rush hour traffic.
"You can't build a helipad for everybody in the Commonwealth, you have to be able to support communities outside of the 128 belt," said DeSlaurier.
The headquarters could bring 50,00 new jobs with an average salary of $100,000 to the area.
Amazon is also offering to invest $5 billion wherever it lands.
Once the offers are in by the October 19 deadline, executives plan to spend 90 days going over them, and will announce a decision sometime after that.
Mayor Petty asked, "Can you imagine having 50,000 people working in the Worcester are? What that would mean to any community?"