Friday marks the anniversary of shipping and retail conglomerate Amazon announcing its continent-wide search for a new location for its second headquarters.
Though it's only been a year, we've heard every speculation, rumor and even fake news announcement possible. Nailing down the day when we think Amazon will select its new home has proven almost as difficult as guessing which city it will pick.
Earlier this summer, we heard whispers Amazon would announce on Prime Day, the company's birthday and subsequent discount day. But those were just rumors.
The New York Times even speculated last month the company would further narrow down its shortlist---a compilation of 20 cities, including Atlanta, that are still in the running for the headquarters' $5 billion investment and 50,000 jobs---in August. That didn't happen either.
It would almost be too cliche to announce another shortlist or even the winning city on the anniversary. After-all, the original announcement was a surprise to the world. But with NDAs involved and airtight Amazon reps, nothing is off the table. Amazon watchers, business journalists and city leaders will all be on their toes tomorrow.
In recent developments with Atlanta's Amazon chances, theories on Reddit, a popular online discussion and news site, have speculated Amazon is headed to the peach state.
“Why are people even still ranking cities based on some arbitrary data points? It's almost September 2018 and this Gulch redevelopment has HQ2 written all over it,” Reddit user Tehndn wrote. “Deals are being made with actual dollar amounts. IMO (internet-ese for “in my opinion”) this is an open and shut deal and Amazon HQ2 is coming to Atlanta.”
Bisnow has a breakdown of the theory, however, it was posted prior to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's coverage of the Gulch, which exclusively found the prospective company moving into the development is not Amazon.
Atlanta's odds of getting HQ2 have also dipped in Las Vegas. According to new odds released by online oddsmaker Bovada, Atlanta is coming in as the sixth most-likely location for HQ2. North Virginia, Washington D.C., Boston, Austin and Toronto top the online bookmakers odds.
Other rumors include speculation about the company hiring an economic developer in D.C. and a lobbyist in Atlanta. The Seattle Times reports many bidders believe some form of announcement is imminent tomorrow, though they've been clear they've heard nothing from Amazon.
We'll see what Friday brings. In the meantime, check out our timeline of the HQ2 search over the year.
