MACHINEGUN & KIMMER WENT TO SEE THE NEW CHANGES MADE TO COBO ARENA!

Dennis and I went to see what Cobo had done with the old Cobo Arena and it is now ballrooms and meeting rooms. I shot the roof top and a a volley ball tournament was going on too.

I really like the new dark ceiling and lights now.

Dennis hanging out with the Brown Bomber Joe Louis

This is a gorgeous view from the River View Ballroom lobby

COBO ARENA is now 2 floors. Top is the huge two part ballroom and downstairs are smaller meeting rooms.

We also checked out the gorgeous new riverfront entrance to Cobo...It is just gorgeous there!

Cobo Sales Manager Constance Wilson graciously gave us a tour.

The Ambassador Bridge

I met this cool guy named Florida who had this very cool Slingshot motorcycle car... My new friend Michael Kuentz hooked me up with a little cruise down the riverfront.

It was a perfect day in Detroit....CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GO PRO VIDEO

 

Lots of happy Detroiters were waving at us and and I just had to do the roller coaster pose!

Look who made a cameo! Dennis!!

 

Detroit Drum Legend Dennis Thompson posing in front of the new COBO where he played with the MC5

PHOTOS BY RETROKIMMER  MICHAEL KUENTZ AND DENNIS THOMPSON

COBO ARENA IS NOT BEING DEMOLISHED! SEE THE NEW PLANS

There have been tons of reports that the former Cobo Arena was to be demolished and replaced with more exhibit hall space to accommodate bigger shows. But tonight I took a closer look at the progress of the New Cobo Center Renovation Project.

The new facade facing Washington Street will feature this very high tech projection screen to highlight the current shows and entice attendance. The entire facility will have a matching lighter color from one end to the other. Lots of new entrances and more parking (YES)..

Here is a view of the former Washington Street facade..The arena didn't have a harmonious blend with Cobo Hall...

We thought the crews working on Cobo Arena were getting ready to completely take it down and replace it with flat exhibit space. Not so! Cobo Arena is being remodeled into entertainment spaces with high tech stages and really modern looking meeting/gathering rooms, It looks fascinating...watch the video below the photos!

Here is a rendering of how the completed remodel of Cobo Arena will look. Gorgeous! For the first time there will be an entrance from the river side directly into the ground floor exhibit hall.  This hall downstairs was rarely used for various reasons. One is was difficult for attendees to access and another reason were all the poles/obstructions in that room. Exhibitors need open space to conduct business and display their products. Poles are very difficult to work around.

Here is a photo of what we thought was the planned Arena demolish work. I had seen a chart which had the word " Cobo Arena demolished" from a few years back. The fans of the Arena will be happy to know the venue remains under a very gorgeous makeover.

NEW chart explaining the renovations

To learn more about The New Cobo Center Click Here