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Just like a bad break up, we point out the flaws that Amazon saw in your city's bid for their second headquarters. USA TODAY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. If Amazon brought its second headquarters to Louisville, city officials pitched the company, it could settle its employees on a riverfront campus spanning both sides of the Ohio River, retire to a "Camp Alexa" retreat location at General Butler State Park and enjoy $2.5 billion in incentives over 20 years "based on the sharing of future revenues."

The 137-page bid for Amazon's "HQ2" project, which Mayor Greg Fischer's administration has refused to release for two years, offers city-owned land and facilities downtown for an urban headquarters and sells the city's affordability, spirit of "exploration" and ability to serve as a regional talent magnet.

"Louisville is THE place to live, work, create and innovate," officials write in the document. "Swinging for the fences? Invented here. We believe that the homestretch is just the beginning. Just like our hometown hero Muhammad Ali, Louisville is the Greatest of All Time."

Read more: Louisville forced to hand over Amazon HQ2 proposal

If Louisville had won the Amazon sweepstakes, the company would have brought up to 50,000 high-paying jobs to the Derby City, as well $5 billion in capital investment over 15 to 17 years, according to Amazon's HQ2 request for proposal.

After Louisville's bid was rejected, The Courier Journal filed an open records request for the plan.Fischer's team has fought its release in court, arguing that releasing it would hurt the city's economic "playbook."

The Courier Journal won a Kentucky Court of Appeals case in 2019regarding the release of the Amazon bid, and prevailed again this month when the Kentucky Supreme Court declined the city's motion for review.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon,Fischer spokeswoman Jean Portersaid this was, and remains, "the most unusual business location process ever taken" because Amazon publicly announced its intent, process and other details.

Typically, she said, economic development prospects want confidentiality or anonymity.

Porter said the city took this open records fight to court "not because of concern about this particular proposal, but because of concerns about how future economic development projects which may need or want to remain confidential until a business decision is made could be impacted by the question about what is and what is not exempt under Kentucky's Open Records law."

"If Amazon had chosen to locate here, there certainly would have been a robust public discussion as seen in New York and Virginia particularly in Frankfort, which is the primary source of job creation incentives," Porter said.

See also: Why didn't Louisville make the Amazon HQ2 list? Here are some clues

Louisville's bid cost about $170,000 to prepare, The Courier Journal previously reported. Of that, $70,000 came from the city and about $100,000 came from private donations raised by Greater Louisville Inc., the region's chamber of commerce.

Highlights include:

Louisville's bid was one of238 proposals submitted across the United States. But it came up short:Amazon announced in November 2018 that its second HQ would be split into two locations: New York City and Arlington, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. Louisville was not named as one of the 20 finalists.

More on this:Watch the video used to pitch Louisville to Amazon in its failed bid

A few months later, on Valentine's Day 2019, Amazon broke up with New York City, announcing that a headquarters would not be placed in the Queens borough following intense opposition from local political leaders, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The retail giant said it would not search for a replacement.

Louisville's proposal included a plethora of testimonialsfrom local business executives, U.S. Sens.Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, Rep.John Yarmuth of Louisville, former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Fischer, among others.

Bevin wrote that the Bluegrass State "already enjoys a wonderful and prosperous relationship with Amazon," pointing to the 10,000 workers employed by the Seattle-based company in the commonwealth at the time and the selection of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as a new cargo hub for Amazon Prime Air.

"We have already made great strides toward transforming Kentucky into one of America's most business friendly states, and you may rest assured that those efforts will continue," Bevin wrote in the letter dated Oct. 12, 2017.

Meanwhile, in an Oct. 16, 2017, letter, Fischer focused on Louisville's history of bringing in innovative minds, from Frederick Law Olmsted designing a system of parks and parkways in the 19th century to Henry Ford naming Louisville a pilot site for the auto manufacturing industry in the 20th century.

"The future of Louisville and the surrounding region will build on our storied heritage of makers, innovators, dreamers and change-agents a city that has never been content to sit still, but determined to punch above its weight," Fischer wrote.

The Fischer administration previouslyprovided The Courier Journal with several redacted pages about the proposal, includinga presentation dubbed "Louisville Bold" touting the cost of living, labor pool and internet connectivity.

It said Louisville would be "a bold choice for Amazons future" and that the city is "gathering momentum every day" to attract companies.

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Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Ben Tobin: 502-582-4181; bjtobin@gannett.com; Twitter: @TobinBen.

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'Camp Alexa' and $2.5 billion over 20 years: What Louisville offered Amazon in HQ2 pitch - Courier Journal