Concours d'Elegance of America Abandons Meadow Brook Hall

The American version of the 80-year old European Concours d'Elegance will be changing venues next year, after 31 years of staging the event at the Meadow Brook Hall. From next year, cars and car aficionados will be moving to Plymouth, at The Inn at St. John's.

The move comes as a result of the increasing popularity of the event. The new location, being bigger and having more facilities (including onsite hotel and parking), will allow the organizers to provide more space for exhibitors.

"As times have changed, the economics of producing an event such as ours necessitates the presence of an on-site hotel with conference facilities specifically designed for large events," Peter Heydon, the event's chairman said in a statement cited by The New York Times.

For now, no decision has been made whether the event will be held in 2012 at the same venue as next year. For now, the organizers have committed to hosting only next year's event at The Inn at St. John's. This is because the location has not hosted such a big event so far, next year's Concours being a test for the Inn.

According to rumors, the Concours will likely become a multi day event thanks to the increased space available. This is at least what the executive director of the Concours, James McCarter, let slip.

Opened in 1940, the location belonged at first to the Catholic Church, being the home of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit until 1988. Ten years later, the location began being restored, culminating with the opening of the St. John's Golf & Conference Center in 2000.