The I‑X Center’s cavernous halls were humming with chrome, chatter and nostalgia Friday as the 60th Annual Car Parts Warehouse I‑X Piston Powered Auto‑Rama opened its doors. The three-day event, which runs through Sunday, is being billed as the final consumer show inside the sprawling Cleveland exhibition complex.
Spread across multiple halls, the Auto‑Rama brings together hundreds of cars, club displays, specialty exhibits and a packed vendor marketplace. Show hours and ticketing details are posted on the event site, which lays out the Friday through Sunday schedule along with on‑site parking information. According to Piston Power Show, both advance tickets and box‑office pricing are available online and through select retail partners.
For the people who keep this show running, the stakes are personal. Show manager Steve Legerski called the weekend “incredibly emotional” and said the Auto‑Rama has always been “about people as much as it is about cars,” a point he emphasized in interviews with local media. Cleveland 19 captured his comments as spectators streamed into the East Hall on opening day, treating the show as both a party and a goodbye.
Built for War, Reborn for Shows
Long before it hosted hot rods and swap‑meet tables, the massive building opened in 1942 as the Cleveland Bomber Plant, producing parts for B‑29 Superfortress aircraft during World War II. It later operated as the Cleveland Tank Plant before its industrial life came to an end and the site was reimagined as a public exposition facility. The property reopened as the I‑X Center in 1985, a pivot from war production to consumer spectacle that is chronicled in local historical records. The arc from factory floor to exhibition hall is documented by Case Western Reserve University.
Why This Is Marked as the Final Consumer Show
The decision to wind down regular consumer events at the I‑X Center traces back to a lease overhaul at City Hall. In 2025, Cleveland City Council approved an amended lease that gave the building’s operator long‑term control and new flexibility to reconfigure substantial portions of the complex. The ordinance authorized a 49‑year term and set up conditions meant to make a large corporate user possible, rather than relying on an exhibition‑driven calendar.
The council filing and ordinance are part of the City of Cleveland’s official records, and local coverage has detailed how that policy shift set the table for redevelopment ambitions. For more on the lease vote and its goals, see reporting by Cleveland 13 News, alongside the City of Cleveland Legistar entries that track the legislation.
That amendment explicitly opened the door to a potential Fortune‑scale tenant and nudged the property away from its long‑time role as an exhibition hub. Organizers say the Auto‑Rama team and many long‑time vendors came into the 2026 edition viewing it as a final chance to gather under the I‑X roof. Local coverage has cast the weekend as equal parts celebration and send‑off for a building that helped define the region’s show calendar for decades.
Deal Talks, Then Uncertainty
The next chapter for the 2.2‑million‑square‑foot complex was supposed to feature a marquee corporate tenant, with plans to convert large sections of the facility for that use. Those plans have hit turbulence. In recent weeks, reporting indicated that a proposed agreement to bring a Fortune‑level user to the site collapsed, leaving the building’s long‑term purpose unsettled and prompting producers of major consumer shows to take a hard look at alternative venues. Analysis of the broader market and the fallout from the failed deal is available through Axios Cleveland.
Where Will Big Shows Go Next?
Event organizers and regional planners are already gaming out the post I‑X landscape. The expanded Huntington Convention Center downtown is high on the list, as is the planned Huntington Bank Field concourse in Brook Park, which is being discussed as potential event space. Still, neither option matches the I‑X Center’s sheer square footage or its drive‑in access that exhibitors have long relied on.
Cleveland’s convention economy is now in flux as stakeholders weigh how to replace a venue that functioned like a one‑building city. Coverage of the ripple effects and the ongoing discussion about using stadium concourse areas as event space can be found in Cleveland Magazine, which carries reporting from NEOtrans on the collapsed deal and its market implications.
For this weekend, though, attention is firmly on the show floor. Vendors, club members and families are treating the Auto‑Rama like a final lap, packing the halls with completed builds, long‑running projects and a lot of reminiscing about what the Cleveland show scene might look like once the I‑X lights go dark. The event site reiterates the schedule, floor highlights and ticket options for those planning a visit. Details on maps, pricing and hours are at Piston Power Show.
Legal note
The council ordinance that amended the I‑X Center lease is an official municipal action that authorizes a 49‑year term, modifies the leased premises and outlines conditions the city can invoke if airport expansion or other public needs arise. The full text of the legislation and supporting documents are posted on the City of Cleveland’s Legistar portal for anyone who wants the technical language. See City of Cleveland Legistar.
