[Durham INC] Durham Receives Google Endorsement from W.Va. Mayor

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov

 

For Immediate Release:  April 15, 2010

 

 

Durham Receives Google Endorsement from W.Va. Mayor

Final Four Wager for Men's NCAA Basketball Championship Delivers "Win"
for Durham

 

DURHAM, N.C. - Some may frown upon sports wagers, but in this instance,
it has paid off big time for Durham.

 

The City of Durham now has official support from Morgantown, W.Va. for
its application to Google for the company's proposed ultra high-speed
fiber optic network installation project, thanks to a game day wager
between the two mayors and the championship trophy ultimately won by the
Duke Blue Devils.

 

The competition between the Mountaineers and the Blue Devils in this
year's Final Four didn't stop on the basketball court since both teams
are also home to cities that are competing to become a test site for
Google's project.   As a game day wager, the mayors of both Morgantown
and Durham bet that the mayor of the losing team's home must write a
letter endorsing the other city's pitch for Google.

 

Since West Virginia lost to Duke in the Final Four, City of Morgantown
Mayor Bill Byrne has made good on his wager and written a letter
endorsing Durham's application to become a test site for Google.  Mayor
William V. "Bill" Bell has received a copy of the letter of endorsement
sent to Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, supporting
Durham's application.  The letter cites Mayor Byrne's "...enthusiastic
endorsement of Durham's Google application."  Byrne goes on to write,
"Having made a pact with the Devils themselves, I willingly express this
sentiment."

 

The tongue-in-check letter, which extols Durham's perfect fit for
Google's experiment, also goes on to remind Schmidt of the "substantial
creative planks" of Morgantown's application and a sly promise that when
the Mountaineers win against Duke in next year's championship, the game
ball would ultimately land in the hands of Google.

 

Google plans to pick one or more locations across the country, promising
Internet service that's more than 100 times faster than what most
Americans currently have.  Google will announce its decision by year's
end.   

 

To learn more about Durham's efforts to bring Google to town or to view
Mayor Byrne's letter in its entirety, visit www.hifiberdurham.com or
contact Sam Poley, director of Marketing and Communications with the
Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (919) 680-8320 or via e-mail at 
sam at durham-cvb.com. 

 

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