Glasgow SECC Arena
| The Hydro | |
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| Former names | Scotland's National Arena (planning) Scottish Hydro Arena (construction) |
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| Location | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°51′37″N 4°17′06″W / 55.860297°N 4.284926°WCoordinates: 55°51′37″N 4°17′06″W / 55.860297°N 4.284926°W |
| Public transit | Exhibition Centre railway station |
| Owner | SEC Ltd |
| Operator | AEG Live |
| Executive suites | 11 |
| Capacity | 13,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | February 2011 |
| Built | 2011–13 |
| Opened | 30 September 2013 |
| Construction cost | £125 million |
| Architect | Foster and Partners |
| Project manager | Turner & Townsend |
| Structural engineer | Arup Group Limited |
| General contractor | Lend Lease |
| Website | |
| www |
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The SSE Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor, energy company Scottish & Southern Energy subsidiary Scottish Hydro. The company then re-branded itself and its subsidiary companies as SSE, however the Hydro name was retained despite it no longer being a trading name. The arena was designed by the London-based architects Foster + Partners and officially opened on 30 September 2013, with a concert by Rod Stewart.
The SSE Hydro handled 751,487 ticket sales in 2016, making it the eighth-busiest music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales. It also hosted the UFC's first event in Scotland - an event which was impossible to hold in any other arena in the country.
The SECC identified the need for a new arena in which sports and other public events could be held. Previously, such events were held in Concert Hall 4, in the SECC main building. However, the venue's audience capacity is limited, seating just over 10,000. Therefore, it is unable to accommodate the high attendance typically associated with large-scale performance events, such as rock concerts and children’s shows. The new arena is located with the SEC Centre and the SEC Armadillo and hosts international musical stars, global entertainment and sporting events, with an aim to attract one million visitors each year.
Planning for the SSE Hydro began some time in 2001 as the second redevelopment of the Queens Dock in Glasgow. By 2003, a plan had been unveiled for a £125 million entertainment arena, holding 12,000 seated audience members and 1,000 standing. London-based architects Foster and Partners were appointed as the design team for the Hydro by 2004 with Glasgow-based Elphinsone additionally appointed as the preferred developer for the site. The design of the arena was finally released to the press by 2005, and the SECC gained full planning consent for the arena by 2006. Construction for the arena finally began in February 2011 by construction company Lend Lease. By November 2011, building work for the roof of the arena had begun, which was completed by April 2013. The arena's signature translucent outer cushions were installed in May 2013, along with the seating inside of the arena, marking construction of the arena completed, taking two years to complete.
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