Stewart To Open Hydro

Scottish media have been trying to work out whether the delayed opening of Glasgow’s new 12,500-capacity Hydro is the fault of building problems or because organizers wanted Rod Stewart to be its first act.

Newspapers such as The Herald and The Glaswegian appear certain that the venue, which is sponsored by power supplier Scottish Hydro, has had an issue with the builders.

Apparently the beef with Lend Lease, a multinational property and infrastructure company headquartered in Australia, was down to the time scale and cost of the work at the arena, next to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the Clyde Auditorium.

Lend Lease was said to put in a bill for £98 million ($148 million) but the venue and probably Glasgow City Council, which owns more than 90 percent of the business, didn’t want to stump up more than £90 million.

The city got involved to the tune of £40 million ($60.3 million) when some of the private investment money behind the project fell through.

Most of the media reckons the compromise involves Lend Lease picking up an incentive bonus of £3 million ($4.5 million) if it completes on time.

“We have resolved the issues and I am confident that we will open in time,” venue chief exec John Sharkey told The Glaswegian.

The SECC has maintained the row about the invoice didn’t cause the delay but insists it was a result of it securing Rod Stewart for the opening concert on Sept. 30.

Fans who’d bought tickets for the Andrea Bocelli concert, originally scheduled for Sept. 15, are unhappy because that show’s now been knocked back to Nov. 23.

Some had bought flights from mainland Europe and already confirmed their hotel bookings.

“Peter Pan – The Never Ending Story,” which was to be held in The Hydro Sept. 27-29, has now been moved to Hall 4 in the SECC.

“We are truly grateful to the artists, management, cast and producers for their co-operation in this matter, and in particular for accommodating the exciting opening programme planned for The Hydro,” an SECC representative told Scottish media.

If the decision was made to ensure Stewart would be the opening act, it appears to have paid off.  Stewart, whose father was Scottish, has since added three more shows at The Hydro, Oct. 2-5.