Glasgow has transformed its event facilities in preparation for next year's Commonwealth Games, says David Atkinson
When Celtic Park football stadium hosts the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on July 23 next year, it will be Glasgow’s big moment. The Scottish city was European Capital of Culture in 1990 and the Games mark its coming of age as a powerhouse of sport and business.
“The Games has undoubtedly helped with the positioning of the city and generated new opportunities for corporate clients,” says Aileen Crawford, head of conventions for Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. “Some £88 million of confirmed conferences and events have been secured to take place in Glasgow as a direct legacy of new investment from the Games.”
The international event leaves Glasgow with a wealth of new infrastructure. The city has benefited from £6 billion of investment since 2011, of which the cornerstone is the regeneration of 64 hectares of the deprived East End. The key venues are the Emirates Arena and the adjoining Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome (opened October 2012), and the Scottish Hydro Arena entertainment complex (set to be unveiled at the end of September).
The latter boasts a capacity of 12,000 and aims to host about 140 events each year, injecting some £131 million annually into the local economy. Both venues are located in the East End along with the new-build Glasgow National Hockey Centre, the Athletes’ Village and the new Dalmarnock train station, which connects to the centre in five minutes.
Glasgow’s financial district has expanded and the former industrial area along the River Clyde is being transformed. The centrepiece is the £74 million Riverside Museum, which has welcomed two million people since it opened two years ago and has been named European Museum of the Year 2013.
The Creative Clyde cluster, across the river on the south bank, is a new digital media quarter at Pacific Quay. Both form part of the Clyde Waterfront area, a multibillion-pound project to redevelop 20km of the Clyde from Glasgow to Dumbarton over 25 years.
The number of hotel beds has also grown to 6,800 in the city centre, including recent openings from Citizen M and Park Inn. Two new hotels, a Premier Inn and a De Vere Village Urban Resort – the latter of which will have conference space – will both open at Pacific Quay by the start of the Games, and almost 1,000 new hotel rooms and luxury serviced apartments will have been built by 2014. Here is a selection of venues to consider for your event.
200 St Vincent Street
Located at the heart of Glasgow’s financial district and close to the city’s two main train stations, this new £80 million meeting facility is proving particularly popular with financial and legal clients.
Opened earlier this year and styled on a Japanese-hotel theme with lots of dark wood and black marble fittings, it offers six boardrooms around a central atrium on the ground floor, the three-section St Andrews conference and event suite on level two, and serviced offices.
The conference suite accommodates 200 delegates theatre-style or 200 for banqueting. Floor six of the complex is given over to an in-house spa, gym and restaurant, the latter equipped to cater for receptions.
200 St Vincent Street; tel +44 (0)141 222 3934; 200svs.com
Riverside Museum
This landmark new-build museum, designed by Zaha Hadid and opened in 2011, lies at the heart of the city’s up-and-coming riverside area on the north bank of the Clyde.
The hangar-like space houses Glasgow’s large transport collection. Aside from two basic meeting rooms, a private-hire option is to stage an access-all-areas reception for up to 800 delegates among the 3,000-strong collection of exhibits.
These tell the social and industrial story of the city, and include Main Street, a scene from 19th-century Glasgow, where lectures, presentations and networking receptions can be staged for 120 delegates.
There is free wifi and event planners can combine the space with use of Events Square outside. The Tall Ship can also be rented for 200 people reception-style.
100 Pointhouse Place; tel +44 (0)141 287 2720; glasgowmuseums.com
Tollcross International Swimming Centre
Part of the rebirth of the city’s East End, Tollcross reopened earlier this year following a £13.8-million refurbishment of facilities to host swimming events during the Games.
As well as a new 50-metre training pool, additional seating will bring spectator capacity up to 5,000 during the Games. There are five flexible, plain-white meeting rooms, accessed through a separate entrance in a new wing of Community Halls – the upstairs Edrom Suite is the largest, accommodating up to 120 people theatre-style.
The rooms are all wifi-enabled and lend themselves to teambuilding events with an active theme as sports equipment is available. Tollcross is ten minutes by taxi, train or bus from the city centre.
360 Wellshot Road; tel +44 (0)141 276 8200; glasgow2014.com
Emirates Arena/Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome
Also located in the fast-evolving East End and just across from the new Athletes’ Village, the Emirates Arena is the foundation of Glasgow’s Commonwealth legacy.
The £113 million building opened last October and has welcomed 250,000 visitors in its first year, reflecting a strategy to build as many venues as possible for public use before the Games begin.
The Function Suite, overlooking the arena and the velodrome, can hold 150 delegates banquet-style and has a series of small breakout rooms around the perimeter. A popular incentive option is a one-hour session with a coach in the velodrome (for a maximum of 15 people) followed by free use of the in-house spa facilities.
It is also possible to host exhibitions or dinners in the arena and velodrome, although these will be unavailable for hire during the Games.
Dalmarnock; tel +44 (0)141 287 9805; glasgow2014.com
Hampden, Scotland’s National Stadium
For larger-scale events, this sport and entertainment venue offers 42 meeting spaces, including 26 executive boxes.
It will host the closing ceremony on August 3 next year, plus track and field competitions during the Games. The two main event suites, Lomond and Nevis, each hold 600 people reception-style or 500 banquet-style, and are divisible into three sections.
The 250-seater Auditorium in the BT South Stand offers AV equipment, wifi and adjoining breakout space for coffee and registration, while the executive boxes overlooking the pitch can each accommodate 12 people boardroom style. (The football ground itself cannot be hired.)
The on-site Scottish Football Museum can host 100 delegates for dinner or 200 for a reception, hosted amongst the memorabilia or in the Hall of Fame of Scottish football legends. Hampden has overground train access and free parking for up to 1,000 cars.
Hampden Park; tel +44 (0)141 620 4120; hampdenpark.co.uk
Science Centre
For award ceremonies, product launches and exhibitions, the Glasgow Science Centre on the banks of the Clyde can accommodate delegates over three floors of interactive exhibits.
Of the 15 event spaces, the IMAX cinema has theatre-style seating for 370 guests, while the 500 sqm Atrium hosts 650 people for a drinks reception (or 20 exhibition stands) under the glass roof and has a private entrance.
Organisers could also host a dinner for 120 delegates between the exhibits in one of the main galleries. The Bodyworks gallery on the third floor is particularly eye-catching, with its interactive displays on human physiology. Other spaces include the Planetarium and the Science Show Theatre, which seats 120 people.
50 Pacific Quay; tel +44 (0)141 420 5008; glasgowsciencecentre.org
Oran Mor
A former parish church turned funky arts venue, Oran Mor has become a cornerstone of Glasgow’s buzzy West End for its lively mix of theatre, music and art.
But it’s also ideal for events with a creative theme, offering refined private banquets for 65 people in the downstairs brasserie and more intimate meals for 32 amid antique furniture and original artworks in the upstairs private dining room. The latter looks out across the leafy Botanic Gardens and also serves as a boardroom for 20 delegates.
Upstairs, the Auditorium hosts dinners for 267 delegates with a stage, and 400 for buffets or receptions amid pillars, stained glass and an array of dramatic artistic flourishes, such as an elaborate mural in rich blues on the ceiling by Scottish artist Alasdair Gray. It is one of the largest pieces of public art in the country.
731-735 Great Western Road; tel +44 (0)141 357 6200; oran-mor.co.uk
Blythswood Square
This five-star property, a stylish £30 million transformation of the old Royal Scottish Automobile Club, brings a sense of history to incentives and corporate dining with its array of charming period features.
In addition to 100 guestrooms and a 120-capacity restaurant, the hotel has a spa, allowing you to combine treatments with an event in one of the five meeting spaces.
These include a 40-seat screening room with multicoloured Harris Tweed chairs; the wood-panelled, restored Rally Bar for a 80-delegate reception; and the Monte Carlo Suite, which can host 52 people around a custom-designed table, or can be divided into three smaller spaces. Hire the Salon Bar upstairs for afternoon teas and evening drinks with finesse.
11 Blythswood Square; tel +44 (0)141 248 8888; townhousecompany.com/blythswoodsquare
