DETROIT – So long, TCF Center. We hardly knew you.
Detroit’s convention hall, formerly known as Cobo Center until 2019 when it was renamed the TCF Center, is getting another new name after the TCF and Huntington merger, which created Huntington National Bank.
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The new name is Huntington Place, the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and Huntington National Bank announced Thursday. We knew this was coming, the bank announced it about a year ago.
“We are proud that following the TCF-Huntington merger, the name of our new combined bank now graces the walls of this civic center that means so much to the people of Detroit and all of southeast Michigan. From high school graduations to the North American International Auto Show, from speeches by sitting presidents to the annual NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, this venerable facility is part of the fabric of our community and Huntington is fortunate to now be a part of it,” said Gary Torgow, Chairman, Huntington Bank.
The center’s original namesake, Albert Cobo, who served as mayor from 1950 to 1957, sought to keep Black residents out of predominantly white neighborhoods. The convention center opened on the Detroit River waterfront in 1960, three years after Cobo died. Mayor Duggan launched an effort to rename the convention center in 2018.
The center was owned and operated by the city until 2009, when the regional authority was created. The convention center completed its $279 million transformation in 2015 and has hosted some of the most important meetings and conventions in the country, ranking it the 16th largest convention center in the United States.
“Our naming rights agreement, which was a priority for the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, began with TCF Bank and continues with Huntington Bank in strengthening the Center’s financial future. We are dedicated not only to being a contributor to our region’s economic vitality, but also to creating jobs and enhancing the attraction of our destination to visitors,” said Lisa Canada, Chair, DRCFA. “Both of our organizations have a deep commitment to the communities we serve.”