A new look— and a new name— are coming to downtown Detroit.
Cobo is out.
TCF is in.
There will be a block party to celebrate renaming Cobo as TCF Center.
Earlier this year, Chemical Bank paid 33-million dollars to acquire the naming rights to Cobo Center.
The new name is revealed with a new sign.
It will be followed by a day-long long, family-friendly block party that will run though 6pm.
There will be food, entertainment and live music, including a performance by the Temptations.
The convention center’s name had come under fire in recent years.
Critics had noted it had been named for former mayor Albert Cobo, who had spearheaded urban renewal efforts in the 1950’s that had razed black neighborhoods.
Cobo had also been challenged throughout his career by civil rights groups that had accused him of moving too slowly in response to police brutality charges against the city’s black residents.