Green light for Scotland's national arena

Editorial, 12 July 2006

Glasgow has enhanced its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games by receiving full planning permission for a new £62m national arena. Given the green light by Glasgow City Council, the new venue will see a 12,500-seat arena added to the site containing the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). Also included in the plans is a new public square between the arena and the site’s river. It will be able to stage outdoor events for up to 25,000. SECC’s current facilities constitute a major component of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Bid. It is proposed that the entire SECC site will be used for events that include boxing, netball and weightlifting, whilst the new arena will hold gymnastics and the netball final. The media village will also be located on site and temporary structures will be built in the car park to house the international broadcast centre. It is anticipated that the arena has the potential to inject £54 million into the local economy and create 1,500 jobs, adding to the £127.5 million and 3,720 jobs generated by the SECC at present. Glasgow 2014 Bid Director Derek Casey said that the "news couldn’t have come at a better time". "The new arena has always been a key part of our bid, now that it has the go ahead, it allows us to say with even more confidence that we will have the facilities in place to play host to the 2014 Commonwealth Games." The arena is projected to open in 2010.

To view this content you need to sign in or register for free.