No 196
SEC & SSE HYDRO
The SSE Hydro Arena is part of the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. With a capacity of up to 13,000, it is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland and is consistently ranked in the top 10 indoor arenas globally.
Designed by Foster & Partners, the Hydro includes 2 restaurants, 2 VIP lounges, 11 executive boxes and 16 food and beverage kiosks.
The SEC Centre itself offers 5 interconnected exhibition and event halls with a combined area of over 2,000sqm.
Our relationship with SEC goes back more than 10 years, having initially undertaken a comprehensive foodservice review of the SECC (as it was then) to consider the adequacy of both physical infrastructure and operational management of the venue.
Our involvement extended with our appointment to advise on the food and beverage strategy for the new arena alongside Foster & Partners and the design team. Subsequently, we were appointed to manage the procurement process to source a long-term catering partner for the whole SEC campus.
Having developed a good working relationship with the SEC management team as well as having a clear understanding of their operating strategy, we were able to deliver an effective procurement strategy and tender process on their behalf.
Our work on the SSE Hydro initially entailed an evaluation of architectural design options for ground level concession kiosks to consider the optimum balance of design, menu concept and commercial return.
We determined that the preferred solution would deliver an additional 20% concession return to SEC as well as helping deliver incremental benefits including an improved hospitality entrance and the creation of additional space to introduce a VIP lounge.