DETROIT (WWJ) – A return could be near for the North American International Auto Show after the annual festivities in downtown Detroit were canceled each of the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials are considering some tentative dates for the show to return in 2022. Sept. 14-25 could be the dates, according to Doug North, Chairman Emeritus of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association Special Events.
North says they’re still in the very early stages of planning, though, and the date could change.
After years of running during the winter months for three decades, the show was scheduled to move to the summer in 2020, with a large emphasis on outdoor displays and festivities. Those plans were put on-hold at the onset of the pandemic, however.
“Our hope and our objective would be to get back downtown and have both an indoor and outdoor show like we had planned for,” North told WWJ on Tuesday.
North says Huntington Place, also known as the former TCF Center, will play an important part in the show’s return.
He expects an official announcement to be made sometime in early 2020.
State lawmakers are also considering a spending bill that would provide a $9 million, one-time grant for the auto show. North says the funding would give them a welcomed boost.
“After canceling our show these last couple of years, it’s created a real business hardship – not only on our association that puts on the shows, but certainly many of our partners, as well as a number of our stakeholders downtown,” North said. “So it would really help fund that whole effort in many different ways and provide a really sound footing to move forward.”
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