Michigan's Oakland County to grab NAIAS from Cobo?
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Mar 31st 2009 at 6:58PM 
We can't blame Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson one bit for thinking the North American International Auto Show might be better served by moving locations away from Detroit's troubled Cobo Center. The building itself has been in disrepair for years, with a leaky roof and a poor electrical system generally cited as its most urgent needs. When an agreement was finally reached that would have fixed most of Cobo's many woes and expanded it with an additional 166,000 square-feet of floorspace, we all let out a collective sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, in what our own John McElroy called "a stupefying move at the 11th hour," the Detroit City Council voted down the proposed plan by a five-to-three tally, saying that the $20 million the city would be paid to give up power over the dilapidated building wasn't enough. Naturally, this action drew ire from a number of important sources, not the least of which being the automakers who are growing increasingly fed up about the horrid state of affairs at the Detroit Auto Show.
Here's where Patterson comes into play: "If this thing goes down, I'm done," Patterson has told The Detroit News. "I'm not going to go back to Detroit to try to resurrect the deal. Five years is enough." Unfortunately, Patterson's plan to move the annual event to another location in the Detroit area has a few potential snags of its own. The next largest nearby venue is the Pontiac Silverdome, which is about two-thirds the size and has been empty since the Detroit Lions left the stadium in 2002.
And what does the embattled Detroit City Council have to say about Patterson's proclamations? "He's bullying us as usual... he just wants everything on his own terms" says councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins.
This is one sordid affair that seems likely to drag on for years with no end in sight.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
AZZO45b 7:52PM (3/31/2009)
I'm basically a life long resident of S/E MI & have lived in BOTH the city of Detroit & the 'burbs. The educational level of Detroit is well known. Intelligent Detroiters get out-voted by severely UNDER-EDUCATED citizens.
The small percentage THAT EVEN VOTE... treat the elections like American Idol! Gee, Martha Reeves used to sing under Motown Records.... she's just PERFECT for city government, eh??? PLEASE!!!
Sadly, the rest seem to think their city is unfairly persecuted due to the racial make-up of the city. Any criticism is tagged RACIST or guys like Patterson are called "a bully". The Oakland County Exec. is a Republican, but Democrats in Lansing meet the same roadblocks.
Ms. Collins can B*tch & Complain all she wants... Detroit will (& IMO, deserve to) LOSE the NAIAS!!! L. Brooks Patterson will not get an alt. venue built either. SE/ MI will plain & simply see the NAIAS relocate to a proper facility & state that has a freakin' clue.
Enjoy the revenue from the NCAA Final Four @ Ford Field & pray the Redwings make the Stanley Cup Finals.... the NAIAS "teet" will soon run dry.
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AMcA 9:23PM (3/31/2009)
Chicago!
Bring NAIAS to Chicago!
Excellent convention facility probably 10 times the size of COBO, in excellent condition. Vast numbers of hotel rooms (ever try to get a place to stay during NAIAS?). And a city that's actually worth visiting - top-flight restaurants, entertainment, museums, culture, etc, etc.
And it's still in the Midwest! And the Chicago auto show is currently the biggest show in the country, I believe.
What's not to like?
Jim 9:31PM (3/31/2009)
"What's not to like?"
well, I wouldn't like it to leave the Detroit area. But, since the Detroit city government seems determined to screw up every detail, I guess Chicago wouldn't be a bad alternative. Illinois does have some solid ties to the auto industry with Ford's Chicago Assembly, (where I was last week, BTW,) Chrysler's Belvidere, and the now-defunct DSM plant in Normal. Plus whatever I might be forgetting.
sk 8:07PM (3/31/2009)
Take for example the Geneva Automobile Salon. It is located just off the airport. You can walk from the terminal to the Palexpo (home of the car show). They made it actually attractive to go and visit. Not like Cobo which feels more like a visit to the dentist for a root canal treatment. Why doesn't Michigan build something similar at the DTW airport terminal. A state of the art exhibition center that people actually want to go see and visit. This would also perfectly fit in with the planed light rail system from Ann Arbor to Detroit. It would connect the city with the exhibition center.
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AZZO45b 8:17PM (3/31/2009)
(1) Because the state is BROKE
(2) It took a decade or so to plan & build the Northwest Terminal . They also just built a new terminal that had been a "temp" when it was built in the mid 50's. This project seemed to take forever as well. :( :(
(3) By the time an off-airport facility is built, the NAIAS would be reluctant to return ....after years of being in Los Angeles or metro Chicago! (JMO).
Len_A 8:38AM (4/01/2009)
AZZO45b, buddy, as another SE Michigan resident, also once in Detroit, and now in the burbs, I couldn't agree with you more. Every f***ing day, some jack*ss around here raises the term clusterf*ck to a new level.
Jim 8:20PM (3/31/2009)
""He's bullying us as usual... he just wants everything on his own terms" says councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins."
And you don't?
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Xcountryflyer 8:33PM (3/31/2009)
Why don't they just give up on the Detroit auto show and make the LA or NY auto show the premier auto show for North America. Both those cities seem to be able to offer more than this venue can.
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mr.ed 8:33PM (3/31/2009)
Cobo's been declining for decades, along with the whole city. It would only be logical, if MI is to keep the show at all, to move it to the burbs, with their better perception of safety and adequate cheap parking. Anybody who's done the Joe Louis garage steps knows misery with no bounds.
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bighc162 8:31PM (3/31/2009)
From the freep article on the same matter:
Patterson said the Pontiac Centerpoint facility already has 1 million square feet of space, which could be converted for auto show use “with very few modifications.”
The Rock Financial Center in Novi has enough open real estate around it to expand to a million square feet. The Silverdome also could be used, though it would need more modifications.
Patterson said Oakland County is set to pay $595 million in hotel and liquor taxes over the next 30 years to fund the Cobo deal.
Boggles the mind that this boondoggle costs so much.
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naif 9:17PM (3/31/2009)
Yes, Cobo is obsolete, either build a new place or use a smaller venue somewhere else.
Remember, GM, if there at all will need much less space.
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Alex Nunez 9:39PM (3/31/2009)
Enough already with this soap opera. Make Chicago the North American International Auto Show. Better city, gargantuan facility in McCormick Place. This should be a no-brainer. Cobo is a dump. Let these imbecile politicians in Detroit carry on their petty power struggle. They'll be too distracted to notice when the show just up and moves.
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Jim 9:43PM (3/31/2009)
You're just racist.
Jim 9:44PM (3/31/2009)
(that was tongue-in-cheek, for anyone who needs an explanation)
alex 10:01PM (3/31/2009)
the NAIAS won't move to chicago or LA. look who produces the show dumbasses
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AZZO45b 11:18PM (3/31/2009)
NADA does... National Auto Dealers Association. Key word being NATIONAL!!! Also with dealers going belly up....
I believe NADA is a glorified promoter... a different venue might have a new power structure? I never say "never".
Detroit Council are going to look like Butt-heads when the NAIAS goes bye-bye.
alex 11:33PM (3/31/2009)
actually, it's DADA... Detroit Auto Dealers Association. Key word being DETROIT!!!
Now apologize for being wrong and go away.
AZZO45b 2:26AM (4/01/2009)
Try being less of a tube steak, alex. Its Auto Blog D*ckhead, not Alex's Blog!!!
Who usually has more power? ONE of our 50 states or the UNITED States?? DADA is a smaller group linked to NADA. DADA controls the NAIAS Charity Preview & associated DADA supported charities. They run misc. contests tied to the January show.
http://www.dada.org/
A group of dealers are not going to rule over multiple & international automotive corporations that are already B*tching about the sub-par NAIAS "home" (COBO)
DayShifter 10:05AM (4/02/2009)
@alex,
LOL!! Thanks for the laugh this morning... In my opinion, there is a lot of misinformed people when it come to the whole COBO deal. Yes, I agree with most, that Detroit Council pretty much sucks, but that still doesn't make it a good deal.
JZeke 11:09PM (3/31/2009)
Chicago really wouldn't be bad.
I went to this year's show, and yes McCormick is simply huge. Only caveat was the limited sports car section. Chrysler managed to squeeze in a Jeep test track, and other manufacturers made lavish use of the space. Plus parking is ample, and the location is accessible from both airports via the el, and metra and all major highways (90/94/55 etc).
LA could be interesting, but the LA area is so spread out that it might prove expensive for alot of different reasons.
This makes me wonder about the long-term significance of Detroit being the center of the American auto industry.
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