Texas city of Arlington says it’s out of bid for Amazon HQ2

ARLINGTON, Texas — The city of Arlington says it’s “no longer moving forward” in the competition to become Amazon’s second headquarters, and released details of the incentives it offered the online retailer.

Arlington said Tuesday it had been “one of the very select finalists in North Texas asked by Amazon to make an in-person pitch to company executives and provide a site visit for our proposed HQ2 site.” But it said it was no longer involved.

“We realize we are no longer a focus in the HQ2 selection process,” city spokeswoman Susan Schrock said in an email.

Arlington’s pitch was included in the proposal for the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which included many area sites. Arlington says it “remains very supportive” of the region’s ongoing effort to land the headquarters.

Amazon had set off the competition last year, and made clear that tax breaks and grants would be a big factor in its decision. In January it released a list of 20 areas still in the running for the $5 billion project that could employ up to 50,000 people. Seattle-based Amazon.com didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Arlington offered incentives estimated at $921 million, including a 10-year property tax abatement and a grant for the hiring of Arlington residents. The city proposed the 200-plusacre Globe Life Park, the soon-to-be-former home of the Texas Rangers baseball team, as the potential site. The team will move into a new stadium in 2020.