The complaints about the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) staged yearly in January in Detroit fall into three categories A) it's in January B) It's in Detroit and C) Cobo Hall is just too small for the event. Well after the plan was announced to expand Cobo Hall by some 120,000 square feet, the organizers are concerned the politicians in Lansing will be politicians and fail to deliver the goods on the deal. Such fears are leading to statements from show chair Joe Serra like "We want to keep it here, but time has run out."
The Detroit News has an in depth article stating show officials are considering selling the rights for the show to Chicago or just shopping it around to other cities. Perhaps talk like this is only meant to light a fire under Lansing's butt, but the idea of losing the NAIAS sure would be a boot to the neck for the local economy. [DetNews]