Detroit officials released what Patterson called "a substantial pile" of papers, and Kilpatrick reassured Patterson that no decisions had been made on how to pay for the project. Last week, Patterson had pulled his county's representatives out of ongoing talks about the proposed expansion. The biggest hurdle in the project is how it will be financed.

After Patterson's walk-out, members of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, whose North American International Auto Show is by farCobo's biggest annual event, had urged Patterson to rejoin the talks, saying the Cobo expansion simply could not happen without Oakland County's involvement.

The principal issue is how to pay for the expansion. Oakland County's financial support is seen as crucial to expansion. Cobo's last expansion in the 1980s continues to be funded through the Detroit area portion of a statewide liquor tax and a hotel tax in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.