Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washington Boulevard, the facility was originally named after former Mayor of Detroit Albert Cobo.
Huntington Place is 2,400,000-square-foot (220,000 m2) in size and has 723,000 square feet (67,200 m2) of exhibition space, with 623,000 square feet (57,900 m2) contiguous.[4] It previously featured an arena, Cobo Arena, which hosted various concerts, sporting events, and other events.[3] In 2015, the facility completed a renovation that repurposed the Cobo Arena space, adding additional meeting halls, a glass atrium with a view of the Detroit riverfront, and the 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) Grand Riverview Ballroom.[5][6]
Huntington Place, then Cobo Hall, in 2007, with the southern end of M-10 passing under the center 300 yards (270 m) from ending at street level (and becoming/leaving Jefferson Avenue).
The facility and its attached arena initially cost $56 million.[3] It was designed by the Detroit architectural firm Giffels & Rossetti and took four years to complete.[3][1] Louis Rossetti was the chief architect.[1] The facility is on the site where Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French colonist, first set foot and landed on the banks of the river in July 1701 and claimed the area for France in the name of King Louis XIV.[3] The first convention at the facility was held in 1960 by the Florists' Telegraph Delivery (FTD).[3] The first event was the 43rd Auto Industry Dinner on October 17, 1960, at which President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the keynote speaker.[3] In 1989, a renovation was completed to expand its size to 2,400,000 square feet (220,000 m2).[3][4]
In 2009, Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. vetoed the Detroit City Council's resolution against the expansion of the facility.[13][14] Shortly after, the facility came under ownership and operation, through a 30-year capital lease, of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA). The five-member Authority Board consists of one representative from each of five government agencies – the City of Detroit, State of Michigan and the three Metro Detroit counties of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb. Consensus agreement from the authority is needed for all decisions, and it has become a model for regional cooperation in Southeast Michigan.[15]
In October 2010, the DRCFA awarded a management contract to SMG,[16] which merged with AEG Facilities to form ASM Global in 2019.[17] It extended the contract for three years in September 2013 and again in June 2017.[16][18] In 2015, a five-year, $279 million renovation was completed, including a new atrium, ballroom, and meeting spaces, constructed mainly within the former Cobo Arena building.[5][6]
Huntington Place, then Cobo Center, in 2015.
In 2017, in the wake of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Detroit riot, current mayor Mike Duggan proposed that Cobo Center be renamed due to modern reappraisals of Cobo's tenure as mayor. Cobo had upheld exclusionary covenants against African Americans, and was accused of responding poorly to allegations of harassment and police brutality against African American residents.[19][20][21][22] In 2018, the DRCFA stated that it had already been considering the sale of naming rights to the facility, for the first time in its history.[21]
In June 2018, the DRCFA approved a 22-year naming rights agreement with Chemical Bank, which took effect on July 1, 2018; the following month, Chemical announced that it would relocate its headquarters to downtown Detroit. The deal would not be publicly announced until February 20, 2019; the parties agreed to delay the official announcement until Chemical finalized and announced its agreement to merge with the Minnesota-based TCF Financial Corporation.[23] A new name for Cobo Center was not formally announced at this time, as the bank wanted to wait until after the completion of the merger. In the meantime, Chemical Bank logos would appear on advertising and signage at the facility, and a ceremonial bust of Albert Cobo was removed from public display.[23][24][25] The Chemical–TCF merger was completed on August 1, 2019, and the combined company took on the TCF name.[26] Cobo Center was officially renamed TCF Center on August 27, 2019.[21]
On December 13, 2020, TCF announced another merger with Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares. The merged company would operate under the Huntington name, and it was expected that TCF Center would be renamed by mid-2022.[27] The merger was completed in June 2021,[28] and on December 9, 2021, it was announced that TCF Center had been renamed Huntington Place.[29]
Notable events
Ford Motor Company exhibit at the 2019 North American International Auto Show.
Since 1965, the largest event held at Huntington Place is the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). This event draws thousands of international press and suppliers during its initial five days and has a charity preview party for 11,000 guests before the public opening.[31] Since 1976, the Charity Preview has raised an average of $2.4 million yearly for southeastern Michigan children's charities.[32] After the Charity Preview party, the NAIAS is open to the public for ten days, drawing, on average, 735,000 attendees.[16][33] The show was originally held in January, but was to move to June beginning in 2020.[34] On March 29, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 NAIAS had been cancelled due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.[35] The 2021 NAIAS was also cancelled and replaced by a downsized outdoor event in Pontiac, Michigan.[36][37]
WWE and WCW also hosted numerous house shows and tapings in the arena during the 1990s, but WWE would return in 2006 for the premiere of the 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.
Cobo Arena closed in 2010 as part of a major renovation completed in 2015. The space was used to construct new facilities, including the 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) Grand Riverview Ballroom, a new atrium area, 21 additional meeting rooms, and an outdoor terrace.[57][58]
^McFadin, Daniel (February 21, 2014). "A half-century of memories". NCAA.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
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