Concert halls & amphitheaters / Downtown riverfront (Cobo Center, now Huntington Place)
Cobo Arena
Closed – archive entry · 2010
A former 12,000-seat arena on the downtown riverfront (1960–2010), part of the Cobo Hall convention complex now known as Huntington Place.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The 12,000-seat Cobo Arena opened in 1960 as part of the Cobo Hall convention complex and was the Detroit Pistons' home court from 1961 to 1978. It was one of America's classic rock arenas: Bob Seger recorded all of “Live Bullet” there in September 1975, Kiss recorded most of “Alive!” there, Journey recorded “Captured” there in August 1980, and Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Prince and Bruce Springsteen all played it. On June 23, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave an early version of his “I Have a Dream” speech in the arena after the Detroit Walk to Freedom; it closed as an arena in 2010.
- Bob Seger's “Live Bullet” (1975)
- Pistons home court 1961–1978
- Early “I Have a Dream” speech
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 12
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Joe Louis 1914–1981 · boxer, world heavyweight champion
Memorial
A full-size statue of Louis stands inside the downtown convention center.
- Bob Seger born 1945 · singer, songwriter, musician
Recorded here
Riverfront arena where Live Bullet was recorded in September 1975; it hosted its last concert in 2009 and the space was rebuilt as the Grand Riverview Ballroom of today's Huntington Place.
- Walt Bellamy 1939–2013 · basketball player, center
Played here
The Pistons' downtown arena during his Detroit seasons; the building survives as part of the Huntington Place / TCF Center convention complex.
- David Alan Grier born 1956 · actor, comedian
Related place
The June 23, 1963 march down Woodward ended here with King's early 'I Have a Dream' speech; Grier's family took part in the march.
- Thomas Hearns born 1958 · boxer, champion in five weight divisions
Played here
Scene of his 1987 win over Dennis Andries for the WBC light heavyweight title.
- John Dearden 1907–1988 · Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Detroit
Related place
Detroit's riverfront convention center, where the 1976 Call to Action conference he led gathered 1,340 delegates.
- The Sheik 1926–2003 · professional wrestler, promoter
Performed here
Riverfront arena where the Sheik's Big Time Wrestling cards regularly sold out; the arena closed in 2010 and was converted into convention space.
- Albert Cobo 1893–1957 · businessman, city treasurer, mayor of Detroit
Memorial
Riverfront convention center built and named in his honor; renamed TCF Center in 2019 and Huntington Place in 2021. It hosts the Detroit Auto Show.
- Fred Zollner 1901–1982 · industrialist, basketball team owner
Related place
The Pistons' downtown arena from 1961 to 1978; in 2015 the arena space was converted into halls and the Grand Riverview Ballroom.
- Alto Reed 1948–2020 · saxophonist
Recorded here
Seger's September 1975 shows here became the album Live Bullet. The arena closed in 2010 and was rebuilt as a ballroom inside today's Huntington Place convention center.
- Drew Abbott born 1947 · guitarist
Recorded here
The Silver Bullet Band recorded Live Bullet here in September 1975. The arena closed in 2010 and was turned into a ballroom of today's Huntington Place.
- George Blaha born 1945 · sports broadcaster
Worked here
Where he called his first Pistons game in 1976; the arena space was converted into halls and a ballroom in 2015.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
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