TCF Center is under “operational control” of Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) (“Authority”), created in 2009 when Michigan Legislature passed Public Act 63.

According to the DRCFA website, their most recent Annual Report made available is for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015. Notably, it states that “Cobo Center receives three primary streams of revenue to support its daily operations: a state operating subsidy that is scheduled to decrease over time based on a formula outlined in the DRCFA’s enabling legislation; a state debt subsidy that services all outstanding principal and interest payments on bonds issued to cover capital costs associated with expansions and upgrades to the center; and operating revenues received in exchange for the goods and services provided by the center to its customers and their guests.”

At that time,”Parking revenue” totaled $4,546,764 against $1,220,371 in expenses; with “Operations revenue” of $16,443,658 versus $22,667,882. On top of that, another $859,778 went to “Authority administration.”

All told, “Operating Expenses” exceeded Operations and Parking revenue by over $3.7 million.

Page 6 of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority: Financial Statements (September 15, 2015) expanded on its “State Subsidy.”

As noted above, the State of Michigan provides an annual operating revenue subsidy for the Authority to assist in its earliest years; for the years ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, operating revenue [subsidy] totaled $8,000,000 in both 2015 and 2014. Future subsidies are scheduled as follows for the years stated below:

2016 [at] $7m
2017 [at] 6m
2018 – 2023 [at] 5m annually

… The state also provides a subsidy in the form of debt service from the proceeds of the Convention Facility Development Fund (the “CFDF”). For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, the Authority received $8,000,000 and $4,417,143, respectively, in debt service from the CFDF. This revenue was off-set by the interest expense for debt service on the 2014 and 2011 Series A and B bonds ….

Next meeting of DRCFA is scheduled for 10:00am on April 29, 2021.