Don’t pity Detroit
Potential conventioneers are starting to hear some surprising news about poor and downtrodden Detroit: its downtown is extremely safe. The Motor City is also a top concert and performance town and has some of the best museums in the country.
Huh? This is defunct Detroit.
"While cars will always be in our DNA, we also have some of the world’s great museums—like the Detroit Institute of Arts and The Henry Ford, and three Vegas-style casinos," said Christopher Baum, senior vice president, sales and marketing for the Detroit Metro CVB.
He told meetingsfocus.com:
"We’re also one of America’s top concert and performance towns—home to Motown, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, The White Stripes, Eminem and many more—and home to several of America’s favorite sports franchises, including the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings. Nobody ever comes to southeast Michigan and says, ‘There’s nothing to do.’"
That safety figure, incidentally, is from the FBI.
Despite a recent wave of bad publicity, Detroit 3.0 is a promotional effort launched last year by the Metro Detroit CVB to nurture and spread the word of a revived city.
“A number of the top meeting venues and attractions are benefitting from, and contributing to, the city’s ongoing reinvention,” said Meetings focus.com.
Stylish casinos are also adding to the appeal, which not rival Vegas but MotorCity Casino provides 67,000 square feet of function space and the MGM Grand adds another 30,000.
There’s also a US$300 million makeover at the Cobo Convention Center. It will add a new banquet and event space over the next three years.
By David Wilkening
David
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