USA – Convention and arena management company SMG has been selected to take over the daily operation of Detroit’s Cobo Centre.
The Cobo Centre has voted to turn over management of the Detroit landmark to SMG as part of a turnaround aimed to keep the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) as its prime tenant, and bring new exhibitions to downtown Detroit, according to EW’s US partner Trade Show Executive.
The board of directors of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA), which took over management of Cobo from the city late last year, voted to negotiate a management contract with SMG in a pact that goes into effect in the autumn.
Gregg Caren, SMG’s senior VP of business development, said Cobo is the largest convention centre ever to be transferred from Government control to private management. The venue offers 213,300sqm of exhibition space.
“Some of the top priorities are rebuilding the service levels and the financials of the facility to bring it up to today’s standards,” said Caren. “The DRCFA brought in a new food service operation last month, and the next major action was to contract facility management.”
The management of Chicago’s McCormick Place is also expected to be put up for bid later this year.
