Prepared in June 2018, this first paper broke the twenty finalists into three groups: “not viable,” “hotly debated,” and “top tier.” Austin, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Montgomery County in Maryland, Newark, and Pittsburgh were all cast in the first category and dismissed, largely because they were too small and did not have the required infrastructure and talent. In addition, the team had concluded from their visits and from analyzing public sentiment that Austin and Denver might be hostile to Amazon’s presence.
