PITTSTON TOWNSHIP -- Online retail giant Amazon is based in Seattle, but company officials are looking for a place to put a second headquarters and Northeast Pennsylvania is in the running.
It's a big business deal and plenty of places are competing. Bids were due Thursday.
Penn’s Northeast is an economic development agency NEPA; the agency put together a proposal on behalf of five counties: Schuylkill, Monroe, Wayne, Luzerne and Lackawanna.
"I think if it would help to boost our economy it would be a real positive thing for the area. I sometimes work with underprivileged and low-income families and I think it would make more opportunity available in the area it would help them and it might help others so it could definitely help our area to blossom and to grow and to be more competitive,” said Brenda Grunza of Lake Sheridan.
There are already Amazon facilities in Northeast PA including a warehouse in Pittston Township, one near Hazleton, and one in Covington Township, Lackawanna County.
Those warehouses have helped boost local businesses, like Uncle Joe's Pizza in Pittston Township.
"Oh we get orders from them all the time, we have a ton of people come here from lunch from them. I think that adding to all the businesses just creates a bigger industry area where there's more jobs which is great,” said owner Kristene Sciandra.
A new Amazon headquarters is expected to bring 50,000 full-time jobs over 10 to 15 years with average annual salaries of $100,000.
Big cities in the Keystone State like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are competing for the headquarters location, too.
Some say NEPA is a better choice for all kinds of reasons.
"Trust me, I'm from New York. I've been there, I know what it's like. The cost of living is just ridiculous if not near impossible,” said Sciandra.
Northeast PA does not meet all of Amazon's specifications for a second headquarters location.
For example, Amazon wants a metropolitan area of more than a million people but locals say they have faith this area is a contender anyway.
"We could. Why not? What's wrong with Wilkes-Barre? I mean, Pittston or wherever it is? We can beat anybody if we try. Seriously," said Abdulla Kazimi of Dallas.
Amazon officials plan to announce the new location in 2018.