Detroit’s mayor is trying to keep the city’s North American International Auto Show alive and healthy, by introducing an expansion effort to Detroit’s Cobo Hall, the show’s venue. This comes after earlier news that Suzuki will not be present at the 2009 show. The proposed $90 million undertaking would add 80,000 square feet of display space to the venue.
Suzuki ’s reason for abandoning the show was a lack of display space, which the plan would address, but other manufacturers, such as Porsche , left in 2008 on account of a poor sales in the area. The added space would come from areas in the Cobo Arena, and the whole plan is meant to act as a short-term fix before a planned larger-scale, $585 million expansion is completed.
“We’re working out the details now,” Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams told the Detroit News. “This will get done. This has to get done. We cannot lose any more vendors.”
How the city will pay for the project is another matter that needs resolving. The plan is to extend taxes on surrounding area hotels that were introduced to help pay for building Cobo Hall back in 1979. The tax is due to expire in 2015, but only $113 million of the $250 million was ever collected. There is also controversy regarding the two-stage revamping of the hall, and who will pay for any unforeseen expenses.
If a way to fund the project is found and it’s approved, the added space would represent a 11.4 percent increase in exhibition space, as Cobo currently offers 700,000 square feet.
