Cleveland Auto Show, Ohio RV Supershow producers sue I-X Center operator

The organizers of two major trade shows have sued the operator of the shuttered I-X Center in a bid to force the venue to honor contracts that run through 2024.

The Automobile Dealers’ Educational Assistance Foundation Inc., the group behind the Cleveland Auto Show, wants access to the facility and the ability, after 2021, to stage its show from late February to early March. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 8, the nonprofit business association also asks for at least $25,000 in damages, plus attorney fees and other costs.

The Great Lakes Recreational Vehicle Association filed a similar complaint Monday, Dec. 21, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Though January’s Ohio RV Supershow will be virtual, the organization still hopes to hold in-person events at the I-X Center in early 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The suits come three months after I-X Center Corp., the private operator of the city-owned…