He recently told the City Council the four ways to expand on the center mimic the points of the compass, going east, south, west or north.
"We have four or five possible alternatives. We could expand into Joe Louis, go north across Congress Street, north across Washington Street, we could build on top of the building or maybe even into the river," Pavledes says.
However, going east would mean Joe Louis would have to be demolished, Pavledes tells the council.
This statement caused a flurry of dismay throughout the city, and news reports said Pavledes wanted the Joe taken down for a bigger Cobo. However, Pavledes said the statements were blown out of proportion.
"It was always a possibility, but it's probably not going to be done," he tells GlobeSt.com.
He said part of his job is to look at the long-term solution for Cobo, which hosts events as large as the Detroit International Auto Show every year. The auto show requires thousands more square feet, he says.
"We're not going to be able to do anything until we get a new governor, anyway, we're going to require state funding," he says. "I'm not going to be able to know anything for another year."
Cobo is currently at 85% occupancy most of the year, he says. Usually, when a convention center is at 70% occupancy, expansion talks are recommended, Pavledes says.
He estimates Cobo brings about $1 billion per year to the region, and says Detroit, through new development and cleaning up its image, is earning its place again in the nation.
"It's strange, in Europe we're still known as the automotive capital of the world. About five years ago, no one in the US outside of Detroit would want to come here. Now it's getting better, so I can go on an airplane and say I'm from Detroit, and people don't look at me strangely," he says.
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