By Alabama Public Radio
Huntsville, AL – Huntsville is one of three finalists still in the running to house a new NASA business services center. Six cities had originally competed for the center, but Newport News, Virginia, has just dropped out. Those are the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and a site in Ohio. NASA says the center could create as many as 500 jobs. Officials have not released many details on the bids of the finalists, but they do say the Virginia proposal included about $7.5 million in incentives. And the Mississippi plan reportedly put up about $21 million in incentives. NASA did not directly pick the winning finalists. The agency changed the bidding process last year, allowing contractors to submit proposals for the center then choose from the six cities that initially bid for the work. NASA plans to select a winning bid in May.