Scottish Hydro Arena Begins To Take Shape

How the finished venue might look in it's surroundings.

For the best part of a year, the Hydro Arena has looked just like an ugly construction site, but the structure is finally beginning to take shape.  Each time you pass by along the Clydeside expressway, another piece of the structure appears to be in place and it won't be long before the building completes the waterfront skyline.  You can now even see the stairs and have a guess at where the seating will be located in the building.

It is planned to be finished by 2012 and is estimated to be costing around £125million.  It is a worthy investment however as at the moment the SECC are currently losing around 70 days out of the year and the new venue is estimated to bring £131million into the Scottish economy each year.  Since Hall 4 is currently being used for exhibitions, concerts and other events, it takes a long time to rearrange the hall for various events so the plan is that the Hydro arena can be used as an alternative to keep losses to a minimum.  The venue will have a 12,000 seater capacity and will host live music, sports, comedians and many other events including Netball and Gymnastics in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.  

Looks like there'll be plenty room to sit, but not to stand.

Music fans will be pleased to hear that the building has been planned from the inside out just like the Clyde Auditorium meaning the acoustics will be of the highest standard and visitors should have a decent view of the stage no matter where they are sitting.  With it being such a large venue however, it is hard to imagine that the furthest away seats will ever come close to the view you would get from down the front.  As Michael McIntyre said in his 'Hello Wembley' show at Wembley Arena, if you're right up the back of an arena you might as well save your money and wait for the DVD.  It also means that larger acts who haven't visited Glasgow on tour before will now be able to as the SECC say that in the past they have had to turn away acts such as Beyoncé and Barbra Streisand as their venue size simply wasn't large enough for the artist's demands.  

59% of Scotland's population is estimated to attend live music events every year which is the highest proportion of any area in the UK so Scotland is certain to welcome the new venue with open arms.