THE race to complete the £125 million Hydro Arena in Glasgow has been given a vote of confidence with the release of the most expensive tickets for the opening series of Rod Stewart concerts.
Just weeks after the SECC's chief executive warned of a "hairy journey" between now and the end of September to get the 12,000-seater Hydro arena completed in time for the planned opening concert, tour promoters AEG Live have released top tickets for all his Glasgow shows.
An AEG spokesman said: "Having visited The Hydro earlier this month, the promoters and tour team have finalised set designs and sightlines allowing new tickets to be released to fans. The tickets on sale are amongst the best in the arena so fans are urged to act fast to avoid disappointment."
It comes as extra dates were added to Scottish DJ phenomenon Calvin Harris's tour after his Hydro shows sold out. Harris said his Hydro dates sold out in three minutes.
The SECC's John Sharkey told The Herald last month, that completion of the venue was "really going to be right down to the wire".
It is understood that, earlier this year, amid serious worries over whether the Hydro would be completed in time for its planned September opening, the SECC entered into agreements to incentivise contractor Lend Lease to complete the job on time.
The Hydro was then hit by a fire, with Mr Sharkey subsequently insisting that the venue would have been completed by the end of August had it not been for the blaze.
Asked whether he would assign a percentage probability to the Hydro being finished in time for Rod Stewart's opening concert planned for September 30, Mr Sharkey replied: "I am not going to. As things stand at the moment there is a lot to do but we are not cancelling the opener because we think we can do it.
"There has been a hell of a lot done in a short period of time. It is still moving at pace."
Rod Stewart has also lent his support to the completion of the Hydro, recently claiming: "I have been looking forward to this as I've watched The Hydro take shape. 2013 is a momentous year for me. I cannot wait to get back to Scotland and perform in front of a live audience at this spectacular venue."
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