The ribbon cutting for the North American International Auto Show was held in the new atrium space at Cobo Center in Detroit. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM DETROIT — Even though it’s a city synonymous with the automobile industry, Detroit was in serious jeopardy of losing the North American International Auto Show. A $279-million renovation and adaptive reuse of existing space not only kept the auto show at Cobo Center, but got the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) to sign its first multiyear agreement with the facility for five years. The auto show now brings more than 800,000 visitors through Cobo Center over a 14-day period for an economic impact of more than $400 million.
About six years ago, DADA was looking into the possibility of moving out of the facility for the first time since 1965. Not only was the 1960-built building outdated, with no upgrades since 1989, but infrastructure had been seriously neglected with a leaking roof and lack of loading docks and programmable space.
“They didn’t just put the pressure on — they went to the governor,” said Thom Connors, GM at Cobo Center for SMG. In 2009 then-Governor Jennifer Granholm created an authority to take over the facility from the City of Detroit, with the authority hiring SMG in 2010 and immediately getting to work to fix ailing infrastructure. Within the year, SMG and the authority developed a five-year, three-phase, $279-million plan designed by TVS Design along with Detroit-based SDG and Albert Kahn.
Connors estimated that tearing down and starting fresh would have cost about $900 million, but this adaptive reuse was cost-efficient and timely, allowing the building to continue to host events during renovations.
Cobo Center Director of Sales Greg DeSandy and GM Thom Connors show off where a new 100-ft.-long LED screen will grace the front of the building, finishing a $279-million renovation. (VT Photo)
“It wasn’t just the fact that they secured the money, but how they spent the money,” said DADA Executive Director Rod Alberts. “You could add more space, which we needed at the time, but the point was to build it for other conventions and shows that could come here, too.” The end result was about 10-percent more space. “It made it more functional and inviting for other conventions, but the right size for what we needed. In the end, they did it just right.”
The new atrium space provided a venue for opening ceremonies and concerts, including Steve Miller Band during this year’s Charity Preview event.
The load-in isn’t just over a space of days or even weeks, but begins in October with preliminary distribution plans, electrical connections and marking the floors, with the auto show renting out the exhibit space and facility for about three months total.
“I don’t think load in is the appropriate term, with all due respect. It’s a buildup,” said Connors. The 2014 show had 227 total exhibits, 49 of which were original equipment manufacturers and 118 of which were sponsors, meeting room exhibits and affiliated companies. The exhibits include many custom-built, two-story structures that are load bearing.
“There is an enormous amount of lighting and weight hung from the roof, but we have a very robust steel infrastructure because we have a parking deck on the roof that was originally designed to accommodate a multistory hotel,” said Connors. “You have the floor load, but a lot of the walls that appear to be built from the ground up are actually hanging from the ceiling. We have a tremendous weight capacity for rigging.”
The NAIAS takes up every square inch of the facility, including about 100 meeting rooms, 722,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and 200,000 sq. ft. of breakout space.
“If I had another 100,000 sq. ft. I could probably sell that today, but it’s better to have not enough than too much by nature of what the perception is for supply and demand,” said Alberts.
Manufacturers spare no expense when it comes to building exhibit space. (VT Photo)
What some people may not realize is that the NAIAS 2015 is actually several events wrapped into one.
“I’ve kind of coined the phrase that it’s a bit of a Mardi Gras in our own way,” said Alberts. The first two days of the event are Press Preview days, where more than 5,000 members of the media (5,169 in 2014) from 60 countries come for manufacturer unveilings.
The two industry preview days bring out about 34,000 verified auto professionals at a price of $75 each. Albert borrowed the ‘idea-stealing’ day idea from the Frankfurt, Germany, auto show, and said that engineers come in with tape measures climbing under cars and taking off rearview mirrors to see exactly what the competition has been up to.
“We have more damage to the cars those two days than we do during the public days,” he added.
Guests pay $400 a ticket to attend the Charity Preview Show, the largest fundraiser in Noth America. (VT Photo)
The glitz culminates in the Charity Preview Event, which brings about 1,400 guests annually at a price of $400 per person. This year, the auto show surpassed the $100-million mark in total funds raised since the event was established in 1976, with more than $50 million raised in the last 10 years alone and $5.3 million raised Jan. 16, 2015. Steve Miller Band performed and guests didn’t leave the facility until 1 a.m.
“The event’s Charity Preview is the largest single fundraising event in North America,” said Bill Bohde, Sr. VP Sales and Marketing, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The North American International Auto Show is the annual marquee event in a city that initiated the auto industry. In the past five years, an excess of 3.8 million people have attended the show, validating the continued love affair that Detroiters have with the auto industry.”
Thousands flock to see the latest models. (VT Photo)
The staff championed a quick cleanup and, finally, the event opened to the public Jan. 17 at 9 a.m. The public can enjoy the event at prices of $13-$7 until Jan. 25. During the total NAIAS experience, more than 800,000 are expected through the building.
“It’s the equivalent of the attendance of three concerts next door at the Joe Louis Arena, three games at Tiger Stadium, and from today through the next nine days, we’ll accommodate the equivalent of an entire Detroit Lions home game schedule in consecutive days, minus any postseason,” said Connors.
According to David Sowerby of Loomis Sayles & Co., this year’s auto show will bring in $410 million in economic impact over three months.
“It’s a $279-million renovation to keep the auto show in town and, in one year, the auto show has more than a $400-million impact,” said Connors. “You could argue about the direct relationship with those numbers, but I think it speaks to a very significant ROI.”
Centerplate's Detroit Made Kitchen featuring local concepts has made a difference when it comes to food and beverage sales. (VT Photo)
The authority awarded Centerplate a seven-year food and beverage contract at Cobo Center in 2010. NAIAS is by far the largest show during any given year, and it keeps getting bigger. With the additional space and growth of the show, the company has seen a 76-percent increase in catering from year one. A ballroom space opened just before the 2014 show in the former Detroit Arena with additional meeting space underneath, as well as the addition of the atrium.
Centerplate has a total of nearly 2,000 smaller events in the five days leading up to the public show.
“We have a seven-inch, three-ring binder and a nine-inch, three-ring binder to hold all of the Banquet Event Orders,” said Jason Hougard, Centerplate’s general manager for Cobo Center. “It’s big scale, but once you break it all down and put them into one-inch binders it looks more manageable.” The company flies out about 50 out-of-town managers for a total of about 600 hotel room nights just to help with the massive undertaking.
Pierogis and pizza prove popular. (VT Photo)
Centerplate made a considerable capital investment in equipment, but state funds for the renovation allocated for a new 8,000-sq.-ft. eating space called the ‘Detroit Made Kitchen,’ featuring four food shops based on Detroit-inspired dishes and locally-sourced ingredients.
“Before, you walked into Cobo Center and didn’t see anything that really said 'Detroit' other than the Joe Louis statue,” said Hougard, who added that the city has a pretty good food scene including a strong pizza tradition and large Polish population.
“The Polish items have been doing fantastic,” he said. “There are some conventions where pierogis are keeping up with how the burgers are selling.”
Year over year, food and beverage sales have increased 25 percent in retail, and between 2013 and 2015, sales have increased about 50 percent total. Healthy options have helped spur those numbers. A ‘Go Natural’ concession stand has increased sales in its location by 20 percent in the first year, even after having reduced the number of items sold by 60 percent.
“Your costs do go up a bit when you go with high quality, but the gamble is the revenue increase will make up the difference in increase in cost,” Hougard added. So far, the gamble is paying off.
The city has hosted an annual auto show since 1907 (with the exception of the World War II years), transitioning into a truly international event in 1989 after a $225-million renovation and expansion to Cobo Center.
Interviewed for this story: Rod Alberts, (248) 283-5128; Bill Bohde, (313) 202-1999; Thom Connors, (313) 877-8701; Jason Hougard, (203) 975-5910
