The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) will cancel its June 2020 show in Detroit in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeping across the world and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s expected plans to repurpose TCF Center into a temporary field hospital.

NAIAS will hold its next annual show in June 2021. 2020 NAIAS Chairman Doug North said show officials are also discussing plans for a fundraising activity later this year to benefit the children’s charities that were designated as beneficiaries of the 2020 Charity Preview event.

All tickets purchased for the 2020 NAIAS show, including tickets for the Public Show, Industry Preview and Charity Preview will be fully refunded. Charity Preview ticket holders will be given the option of a refund, or the opportunity to donate the proceeds of their refund to one of the nine designated Charity Preview beneficiaries. The NAIAS ticket office will be in contact with all ticket holders.

The NAIAS sponsorship team will also be in contact with each sponsor directly to answer questions regarding refunds and their contracts.

TCF as hospital. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, has assembled and deployed field assessment teams tasked with evaluating existing facilities in Michigan for the possible conversion into alternate care facilities as part of the nationwide federal, state and local effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under this planning mission assignment from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), personnel from FEMA, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and state and local emergency management and medical personnel are conducting initial and in-depth site assessments at multiple locations as determined by state leadership. The teams are providing assessments to the State of Michigan that deliver information on the possible conversion of existing buildings into alternate care facilities in southeast Michigan.

To date, the USACE, Detroit District, has performed seven assessments on locations nominated by the State, including the 725,000 sq. ft. TCF Center, the Detroit Pistons Performance Center and two dormitories at Wayne State University. USACE is performing similar assessments in states throughout the nation.

USACE has received 6 FEMA Mission Assignments (MAs) totaling approximately $361 million, and USACE has more than 15,500 personnel engaged, across the enterprise, in its response effort across the nation. Two FEMA MAs ($5.6 million) are for National Activation and to provide initial planning and engineering support nationwide to address possible medical facility shortages in the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic.