Let's all get behind convention project

By Michael D. LaFaive | Dec. 15, 2004 (http://www.mackinac.org/6915 )
To begin with, the Detroit city’s treasury is already straining to meet its commitments, and convention centers are not known for producing profits. Even among money-losing facilities, Cobo stands out for its large annual losses. According to C.H. Johnson Consulting Inc., a professional convention consulting company, Cobo’s scheduled fiscal 2004 deficit was $19.7 million, and this figure is likely underestimated because the report does not account for administrative costs.

Michael Mikolajczak wrote:

By Michael D. LaFaive | Dec. 15, 2004 (http://www.mackinac.org/6915 )
To begin with, the Detroit city’s treasury is already straining to meet its commitments, and convention centers are not known for producing profits. Even among money-losing facilities, Cobo stands out for its large annual losses. According to C.H. Johnson Consulting Inc., a professional convention consulting company, Cobo’s scheduled fiscal 2004 deficit was $19.7 million, and this figure is likely underestimated because the report does not account for administrative costs.

Now they are focusing on expanding the existing Cobo Conference Exhibition Center at a cost of between $650 million and $665 million. This project would most likely require an additional sales tax on food and beverages or some other tax in addition to the one already imposed on hotels in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties to finance the debt on Cobo. The tax might also include a broader base of counties, such as Livingston, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Macomb. Reports indicate, however, that Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson won’t sign on to any deal that involves increasing sales or property taxes.