Detroit City Council kills plan to expand NAIAS home
by Chris Shunk on Feb 25th 2009 at 8:03AM 
Each year, thousands of journalists arrive in Detroit to see the best and brightest concepts and production vehicles automakers have to offer. It's estimated that the Detroit Auto Show brings in $500 to $600 million dollars annually to the region, which is struggling more than most due to the global recession. For years, the City of Detroit has failed to expand Cobo, and each year there are threats that the NAIAS will be taken away from the Motor City. The state of Michigan has been working with executives from Wayne and Oakland counties and the city of Detroit to upgrade Cobo, but yesterday the Detroit City Council voted down the proposed plan by a five-three tally. The proposed expansion was to add a much needed 166,000-sq. ft. of floorspace at a cost of $288 million.
The part of the plan that isn't sitting well with Detroit officials is a stipulation that hands control of the aging facility to a regional authority controlled by the tri-county area and representatives from the city and state. The city would receive $20 million dollars in funds to cede power of Cobo, but the council feels they aren't getting fair value for the venue. The city, which has been knee-deep in debt for years, operates Cobo at an annual loss of between $13 and $15 million. Due to disrepair, analysts say the building is worth a negative $284 million dollars.
We love the Detroit show, but the fact is that Cobo is a bit of a dump. The escalators don't always work, the cars are crammed into the limited floor space, and last year a fork lift collapsed into the Cobo floor. Automakers have been making their concerns known, with several pulling out of Detroit this year and a few more revealing no new products. NAIAS organizers say that Cobo must be repaired in 2010 or the city could lose its International designation. Exactly what the struggling city and region don't need right now.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2007RC46SP2 8:15AM (2/25/2009)
I'm sure pittsburgh wouldn't mind hosting the event.
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Brent 9:16AM (2/25/2009)
What, so cars could fall thru the floor of their convention center?
Sea Urchin 8:22AM (2/25/2009)
This is the problem these days "Detroit City Council"---------these convention centers should be run by private money, government should not be involved at all.
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Gardiner Westbound 8:45AM (2/25/2009)
.
Are they nuts? $20-million for a building valued at negative $284-million that loses $13 to $15-million per annum and needs a $288-million renovation is a very good deal.
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BigWill 8:59AM (2/25/2009)
Not nuts, just corrupt. I'm surprised the FBI hasn't set up a permanent field office in Detroit City Hall yet.
Jim 9:04AM (2/25/2009)
"Are they nuts?"
yes. They've got this idea that Detroit is in better shape than it is; nevermind the repeated election of mayors who are more interested in being a public spectacle.
Sad thing is, had Archer stuck around the Cobo upgrades might have already been done by now.
DesiAuto 8:48AM (2/25/2009)
Detroit has so many nicer suburbs - novi, farmington hills, auburn hills, troy, ann arbor, canton, plymouth, livonia, etc. etc.
Any one of these towns should be the venue for the world's best auto show.
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John 2:07PM (2/25/2009)
ANY city north of 8 mile and West of Telegraph is nicer.....
S2K 6:32PM (2/25/2009)
Bosnia and Cambodia have nicer places than Detroit...
But anyway, bring the event to Rock Financial Showplace in Novi. It's pretty new, in a great area, super easy access, and Novi has plenty of wads of cash to expand it. Cobo is a pain in the ass to get in and out of, and I've NEVER been outside of Cobo without being harassed by a beggar. They flock to the autoshow just like car enthusiasts, but for different reasons.
jdl 8:56AM (2/25/2009)
Problem is the show means too much to Detroit. Hotels that are probably 1/4 full the other 359 days of the year gouge during the show. The infrastructure stinks, the parking is limited, the facility is crappy, and the workers there are indifferent.
It wasn't too small THIS year...considering the entire basement was a mulchy field and there were empty booth spaces.
The fact is, we don't need three international shows in the US (LA, DT, NY). 1 or 2 is fine. Detroit in January...wow, every year I can hardly wait for the *fun* of crap food, expensive hotels, and lovely weather.
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Jim 9:00AM (2/25/2009)
"Problem is the show means too much to Detroit. Hotels that are probably 1/4 full the other 359 days of the year gouge during the show."
Oh please, you make it sound like that's unique. Try going to Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show when all of the hotels triple or even quadruple their rates.
"The fact is, we don't need three international shows in the US (LA, DT, NY). 1 or 2 is fine."
Yeah, get rid of the NY show. I mean, what's the point of having a big show like that in a city which is pretty car-hostile?
"Detroit in January...wow, every year I can hardly wait for the *fun* of crap food, expensive hotels, and lovely weather."
Then don't go.
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Luis 9:08AM (2/25/2009)
"Yeah, get rid of the NY show. I mean, what's the point of having a big show like that in a city which is pretty car-hostile?"
I go from Boston to NY every year to the NYIAS. And let me tell you, the place is jam packed. You two bonuses of the NYIAS - seeing awesome cars AND being NYC. I don't even drive my BMW to the show, I usually take Amtrak. The NYIAS is located in the heart of 100 million people from New England to the mid-Atlantic - the NAIAS can't compete with the market of the NY show. You seem to forget that NJ, car-central, is located across the river.
They shouldn't move the show from Detroit to the suburbs. Just what's needed is more decentralization. Detroit has a lot of problems, but reducing it's tourist revenue is not something that should be promoted. The public sector should impose a hotel tax to fund a new center - that is the purpose of government - to leverage the private sector to accomplish the greater good. The private sector cannot bear the cost alone, and will not come together on its own to solve this problem.
Yikes 9:07AM (2/25/2009)
Just wait for some Pork to come Detroit's way from Congress.
They are printing money these days. Why haven't they ask the American tax payers to fun the expansion?
Luis 9:38AM (2/25/2009)
Yikes - why SHOULDN'T US Taxpayers fund the showcase venue for OUR products? If we have a world-class expo hall to demonstrate world-class products, perhaps we'll generate some excitement in those products spurring sales, higher employment and subsequently HIGHER TAX revenue? Remember, more people working means more people paying income taxes AND buying stuff (sales taxes) AND businesses making PROFITS and paying MORE taxes on that!
That's the trickle up effect that actually works.
jdl 11:09AM (2/25/2009)
Very simplistic responses Jim. Have you actually LOOKED at the COBO event schedule? It's limited. Unlike Las Vegas (or Orlando, another large conference destination), Detroit doesn't have a consistent schedule of large events. So while LV and ORL have consistently high rates with conferences throughout the year (a given, but thanks for your informative clarification), Detroit hotels gouge at a disproportionate level. A $110/night room at the Hilton Garden Inn was offered to my group for $399/night with a 3-year commitment. Of course, the downturn in the economy and the smaller press attendance, combined with that pricing, made them drop it to $159/night. Other hotels were as bad or worse.
A big city that is car hostile? yes, there are no cars in the NY/NJ/CT area. People hate cars there. The show isn't packed at all, the facility isn't full of product, and there aren't any car dealers in the tri-state area. Good try, good try.
I would LOVE to not go to the Detroit show, but it's part of my job as an automotive journalist.
Rather than just be defensive of Detroit for whatever reason you have (UAW worker? Manager in the Big3? Car dealer/salesperson), take a critical look at the show and use some thought before posting.
WRX09 9:38AM (2/25/2009)
The Silverdome property sits empty near the corner of I-75 and M59. Oakland county should build a convention center there that would be state of the art and avoid the pimple that is Detroit.
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ehisforadam 10:29AM (2/25/2009)
The problem there is hotel space and public transportation. There are a lot of new hotels downtown Detroit and there is the People Mover. Granted, that barely qualifies, but it does come within walking distance to most of the large hotels. If they built something anywhere else, there would need to be a lot of hotels built for it and some way of getting people from those hotels to the convention center.
dukeisduke 9:43AM (2/25/2009)
The Autoextremist's Peter DeLorenzo tears the Detroit City Council a new one in today's On The Table:
http://www.autoextremist.com/on-the-table1/
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300C 10:06AM (2/25/2009)
Great article....couldn't have said it better myself. Conyers is one of the most immature idiotic people in Detroit.
I'd love to know what the Detroit City Council's excuse will be when The NAIAS will be referred to as the Detroit Auto Show...b/c all the major players will have pulled out by then.
The sense of "entitlement" with this City Council needs to stop, stop trying to play the victim card and instead come up with ideas that will help the region move forward.
I can't wait until the NAIAS is officially moved to Chicago, much nicer city.
ehisforadam 10:32AM (2/25/2009)
I know something has gone terribly terribly wrong when I agree with L. Brooks Patterson on something.