Recruiting industrial prospects to locate in the Tennessee Valley has usually involved personal pitches and site tours, in addition to economic incentives often negotiated during the site selection process.
To show off properties in its seven-state region, the Tennessee Valley Authority even bought a $6.95 million executive helicopter previously used by billionaire Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in 2016 to offer aerial tours of available sites for new industry.
The COVID-19 virus has ended such group helicopter tours and limited travel and site visits for many prospects. Instead of personal helicopter tours, TVA is using drones to provide aerial video to prospects considering sites in the Valley.
“We’re doing a lot more virtual pitches and meetings online these days which is certainly a change in a relationship- oriented business like economic development, ” said John Bradley, vice president of economic development at TVA. “The good news is that we are not alone in having to make these changes and, considering the economic challenges we have faced, we continue to see strong activity and interest in our region.”
Indeed, despite the pandemic-induced economic downturn this spring which shut down many businesses and halted expansion plans by many others, TVA still attracted $8.6 billion of new investments and retained or attracted 67,000 jobs in fiscal 2020. Lured by cheaper energy, taxes, land and labor in the Valley compared with many other parts of the United States, prospects continue to look at the Tennessee Valley for new projects or expansions, TVA officials said.