Cobo’s a no go: Appeals court says ‘no deal’ on transfer plan

The deal that would shift the ownership of the Cobo Convention Center from the city of Detroit to a five-member regional authority was dealt a final blog on Friday when the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Detroit’s interim mayor, Kenneth Cockrel Jr. did not have the legal authority to veto a Detroit City Council decision to scrap the agreement, which had been carefully brokered in Lansing in recent years.

The ruling, according to The Detroit News, stated:

We conclude that the circuit court did not err in deciding that the act does not provide for a mayoral veto of the city council’s resolution to disapprove the transfer. We are constrained to abide by the plain terms of the act and thus cannot provide the broad reading of the statute proffered by defendants.

Because Cockrel will not continue fighting for the transfer deal in court, the city will retain ownership of the Cobo Center after a controversial dispute among Detroit politicians and community leaders on whether the deal was beneficial for the financially troubled city. Under the regional authority plan, the convention center, home to the North American International Auto Show, would have been expanded and renovated.

Earlier this week during a town hall meeting in Detroit, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said that lawmakers in Lansing are likely not interested in crafting a new agreement.