News-Record.com

This just came in. For background, read the original article and the blog post. Matt Brown's e-mail to me is pasted in the comments section:

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Dear Members of City Council and War Memorial Commission members,

I wanted to forward to you a copy of the formal letter of apology I sent earlier today to Mayor Holliday and Councilman Phillips regarding my inappropriate actions in response to their comments following Tuesday’s presentation to City Council of the proposed purchase of the Canada Dry property.

I have also spoken with Councilman Phillips this morning and have attempted to contact Mayor Holliday via phone on two occasions to express my regret over the comments I relayed to the News & Record yesterday.

Matthew G. Brown, Director

Greensboro Coliseum Complex

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From: Brown, Matt (Coliseum)
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 12:06 PM
To: Holliday, Keith; Phillips, Thomas
Cc: Johnson, Mitchell
Subject: Letter of Apology

May 10, 2007

Mayor Holliday and Councilman Phillips,

I wanted to take this opportunity to apologize for the comments I made to Margaret Banks of the News & Record yesterday in reaction to your comments from Tuesday morning’s presentation which appeared in her article published on May 9.

Having worked on this project for over 12 years, and as the person who presented this concept to state legislative leaders which resulted in the awarding of $2M for the proposed ACC Hall of Champions, I obviously have a long standing and passionate desire to see this project succeed.

I was frustrated that Margaret detailed your comments regarding possible misappropriation of state funds without including my response that clarified that the presentation made on Tuesday was the same presentation made to the State Legislature, and that the state is aware that the relocation of the CVB, Sports Commission and Visitors Center, as well as identification of the Canada Dry property as the proposed site, are and have always been, integral parts of the overall ACC Hall of Champions concept. My frustration was compounded by the inclusion of comments regarding a perceived lack of support from the ACC and its member institutions, when in fact all 12 schools unanimously approved (at the conference’s Spring Meetings in 2006) both the concept of, and potential location at the current Canada Dry property, of a proposed ACC Hall of Champions.

I overreacted by taking your comments personally and acted in an inappropriate manner by criticizing both of you in an e-mail to Margaret detailing my frustrations with what I felt was a lack of balance in her reporting. Regardless, as a city department head, my actions were inappropriate and I respectfully apologize for my comments. Please understand my primary objective in regard to this is to see the purchase of the Canada Dry property become a reality as I firmly believe this would spark the revitalization of the High Point Road corridor, which I think we all agree is a critical component to the future of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and the City of Greensboro as a whole.

Sincerely,

Matthew G. Brown, Director

Greensboro Coliseum Complex