DETROIT
Detroit’s fresh emergence from bankruptcy is creating a vibrant city poised to host more tourism and conventions than any time in decades, according to Larry Alexander, president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB).
“We are watching history in the making as Downtown Detroit becomes the great city it was decades ago—shedding its debt, attracting major investors and bringing in the amenities and services that draw new residents and visitors,” Alexander said. “This is a city now expected to grow faster than the U.S. gross domestic product.”
The key, he said, is convincing meeting planners that Detroit has top-notch facilities to host groups, starting with the Cobo Convention Center.
In addition to his CVB role, Alexander is also chairman of the board of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, which is spearheading a $279 million transformation of the convention center expected to be complete early next year.
Beyond the Cobo renovation, two new boutique hotels are under construction, and a new hotel directly across from the convention center opened last year, adding to an inventory of 5,000 luxury hotel rooms. The city’s largest convention hotel—the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center—is undergoing a $30 million renovation of its guest and meeting rooms.
More than $1 billion has been invested by Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans, in the last few years, including renovations to Greektown Casino and the purchase and subsequent renovation of 60 skyscrapers.
Mike Ilitch, owner of Little Caesars Pizza, the Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, is backing a $650 million hockey arena and downtown entertainment district encompassing 45 previously unoccupied city blocks that broke ground recently and is scheduled to open in fall 2016. A new 3.3-mile light rail system connecting key attractions is now also under construction.
Additionally, the DMCVB is reportedly developing a strategic plan to communicate the positive change and what the city and region now have to offer convention delegates and other visitors, and convention sales staff have been redeployed and expanded over the past year to handle bookings that were already outpacing previous years.
Convention bookings are projected to increase 140 percent from 2014 to 2021.
Five major groups booked citywide conventions last year, growing to 14 major bookings this year in Detroit, and 16 already signed contracts for next year.
