SECC

Over the years I have been to an array of different events at the SECC. Going back many many years it was one of the main gig venues for Glasgow (Well barras aside) but now it has been taken over by a multitude of other places where bands head to first and actually they are much better. Still I have fond memories of a prodigy gig and a 50 cent (yes fiddy — cringe) one to.
Now I see the SECC as more of an exhibition centre and as that it is fairly decent. I have been to loads around Europe to go to food and drinks shows and usually the main points to consider are, transport links, places to park, bathrooms, cash lines and places to eat & drink. The SECC is actually quite small, but it has sufficient facilities for its size.
Hard to get excited about, but it does what it needs to do as an exhibition hall. If you are checking this out as you have an event or show to go to then in my experience everything normally goes fine.

Glaswegians typically give very literal nicknames to things — need I mention the Squinty Bridge — so the SECC will always be known to me as The Big Red Shed. And it is indeed very shed like, with different concert/​exhibition spaces running the length of one very long hallway.
I’ve been to a few concerts here in years gone by, but I’m not really much of a fan of live music, and it’s been a while, so I can’t really comment on the acoustics. I mostly go to the SECC for conferences and exhibitions.
My recent visit was for Vegfest — the most awesome of vegan festivals. Vegans from all over Scotland and the North of England flocked here with great eagerness, to fill their boots with vegan food, clothing, and other goodies.
What became apparent very quickly was that cash was needed. Most of the stallholders only accepted cash, and some who had PayPal machines were struggling to get connected because of lack of wi-​fi. Unfortunately there are only 2 cash machines in the main hall, and the one at the WH Smith charges £1.75 for the privilege of withdrawing your own money. When I joined the queue, the main cash machine had a queue of about a hundred slevering vegans keen to get their mits on yummy cake and hot-​dogs, and the WH Smith machine also had a hefty queue. So if you’re going to the sort of event where you think you might need cash, take some before you go!
In terms of facilities, I’ll be honest and say I never pay much attention, making the assumption that there’s not much there other than what I’m going to see. There’s a bar at the main entrance, Clydebuilt, but I’ve been told it’s pricey, and I’ve never bothered. There’s toilets too, a cloakroom, and obviously the WH Smith. Aside from that, sorry, I have no idea.
In case you don’t know, it’s easy to get to by public transport. Take the train to the SECC. OK not quite THAT easy. The SECC train station is on the other side of the Clydeside Expressway, so head towards the big perspex walkway tube/​tunnel at the right hand side of the train station exit, walk through it and that will take you straight to the front door of The Big Red Shed. It’s maybe a five minute walk and it’s mostly uphill, so you might want to look at other transport options if that walk is going to be too much for you. Other things to be aware of are that this tunnel is a no smoking area — you’re not actually outside, and other folk might not be too happy with you if you’re smoking when you shouldn’t be. Glaswegians aren’t really ones for keeping quiet about things like that. Also, watch out for cyclists it’s a shared pathway and it’s one of the main cycle routes from the city centre to the west end. It’s clearly marked, so as long as cyclists stay on the green bit and pedestrians keep to the other bit, we’ll all get along fine.

I’ve been here a few times for various events, mainly food and holiday related events (of course). Most recently the good food show with my guy and Sophie K and the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair with the sister in law and her mother in law.
It is what it says it is, really. Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. There are huge halls where suppliers set up shop for a block of days to sell what goodies they have and the public buy tickets to walk around like zombies looking for a great find. Its a great place with great events for a great day out. There are plenty of toilets on site which are typically really clean equip with Dyson hand driers.
What’s also great is that there is an ATM on site, a wee café that sells baked goods, sandwiches and costa coffee, a news agent that comes in handy when you’re not wanting to pay £2 for a bottled water inside events and lastly, on the bottom floor, is Clyde Built, a bar/​restaurant. All these things are convenient as there is very little around the SECC without needed to walk a fair bit.
I’ll always be back with reusable bags in tow any time there is a food/​holiday event on. I can’t get enough of them.

The SECC (strictly speaking, the SE&CC if you want to be pedantic as I like to throw out there from time to time) is a Glasgow institution.
Once upon a time known as The Big Red Shed because it was… well, big and red, it’s now a very bland shade of grey these days. Quite fitting, as there are newer, shinier, bigger and better venues not a stone’s throw from it’s well used doors.
That’s not to say it’s a bad thing. The SECC still sees plenty of action in it’s varied halls. You can find comic conventions, stand up comedy, gigs and even the odd bout of wrestling and boxing under the SECC roof at various times.
There’s plenty of options inside for drink and food, and yeah, you’ll find it’s a slightly over priced as you’d expect for big corporate venue, but not too much like some places *coughAcademycough*
The staff are generally helpful and know what they’re doing by now. I was there on Sunday and they managed to funnel 4000 people into Hall 3 in less than half an hour with little problems.
The problem with the SECC isn’t one of it’s own doing… it’s been replaced or superseded by it’s near neighbours The Hydro and The Armadillo. It’s not going anywhere soon, but you get the feeling it maybe needs a bit of an upgrade to stay relevant over the next few years, especially sitting in the Hydro’s shadow.

Poor SECC! Being the shadow (both figuratively and literally) of the SSE Hydro arena means this stalwart of Glasgow events hosting has sometimes been overlooked in recent years. However I will always have a wee soft spot for the SECC; it was, after all, the venue for my first ever concert (S Club 7, because I am THAT cool!)
I visited with my mum on Sunday for the Ideal Home Show. The exhibition had been given plenty of space and was well-​equipped to deal with the huge amount of people sauntering through its doors. There are a few areas, however, where the SECC could do with an upgrade:
1. Have more than 1 cash machine — throughout the afternoon I could only see 1 cash machine in the entire building, which means massive queues and grumpy patrons.
2. Have toilets internal to the Clydebuilt Bar/​Kitchen — if you decide to eat in the Clydebuilt Bar, be warned you have to walk all the way to the communals ones next to the ticket office. Go before your food arrives because otherwise your food will get cold while you make the journey to the loos!
3. Fix the acoustics in Hall 4 — Hall 4 is the main room in which they hold concerts, but the acoustics are legendarily terrible; in this modern and marvellous age in which we live, there must be some way to improve the acoustics to make the venue more attractive to promoters and organisers?
Plus points: The staff are always extremely helpful and make sure events run smoothly and do an excellent job of keeping everyone safe no matter what the event!

Great day at secc today at good food show– a 3 day event held yearly in October for foodies. Love it and look forward to seeing well known celebrity chefs and sampling food and drink at the numerous stalls. Well worth a visit — keep a note in your diary for next year!

This is situated on the north side of the river.
£2 to leave your coat in the cloakroom — sheer robbery! £6 for car park.
Girls Day Out exhibition — food available awful and expensive. Be warned!

It’s hard to review a venue when your experiences of it are so bound up by the nights you’ve had there — I’ve seen Rammestein rock the joint with enough fire and sweat to put communist-​era soviet propaganda to shame, I’ve gotten drunk on cider and black and shouted my throat raw to Korn, and eaten the tastiest morsels Scotland has to offer at the Good Food Show, I finally got to see Metallica in a venue that could handle the production.
But but but.
The SECC is B&Q for gigs. It’s a big empty hall — and it needs to be, because that’s what it’s supposed to be. It’s a flexible, multi-​functional space that can handle a wide range of events. It has none of the Academy’s old-​cinema grandeur, the Barrowlands’ sticky-​floored-​forgiven Old Glasgow memory or King Tut’s kudos. It can’t be any of those things, nor does it want to be. It’s a space that serves a function, it’s not supposed to create nor be possessed of style.
The security & bar staff are contract, rather than employed by the venue. What’s to review there?
The facilities are pretty much all that’s left, and they’re left looking pretty dated. The toilets need refurbishing — although they’re perfectly passable so little chance that’ll happen. The wee bar in the foyer is… functional. The shop is random.
Meh. Exhibition Centres are a particular type of venue, there are loads of them around the country, they serve a purpose. meh.

Came here for the Good Food show at the weekend, which is now a standing tradition, so this may refer to that event, as well as the Scottish Wedding show a few weeks ago, as these are my most recent events, however I will also talk about the place as a music venue — disclaimer over!
First off…£7 for outside parking? REALLY? It was £5 last year! Take my advice and if you can find some on-​street parking in Finnieston and save your money for important things like beer and food. Mental.
So, inside it’s basically a warehouse without much personality — however with the addition of the Armadillo and now the Hydro, I think that the SECC will be what it always should have been — an exhibition and conference centre, not a live music venue.
For exhibitions, the space is pretty perfect. The thing lacking is personality, which I suppose it is up to the exhibitors to bring. I think that they could definitely make it clearer what is where during the good food and wedding shows — it is not clearly signposted enough and you can easily go around in circles for a while. However, there is definitely plenty of space which is the most important thing.
For music gigs… ugh. The acoustics are crap. For years I didn’t really notice this until I started going to well… anywhere else… and then it became really obvious. What I would say is that there is always an electricity in the air before gigs here — to me, anyway. With a crowd so big I suppose it would be difficult for there not to be, but I always feel safe and quite bonded with the big crowds here — I think because it’s not really ‘localised’ (ie, the Barrowlands is very much an East End venue, and I always feel a bit uneasy there), it might take away some of the tension… I’m hypothesizing as I go here!
Also I was lucky enough to get into the VIP section once to see Green Day — the food was quite lovely, so nice catering.

I was there last night and I’ll be honest: it’s a great concert venue. A lot of folks are all like «oooh it’s for mass production, what about the music maaaaan» (you need to read that in a doughy, music-​head voice). I’m a bit like: ok, there are smaller, intimate venues. Ultimately, I like that the SECC is huge and I don’t have someone’s sweaty self pressing into me. I like that the artists can do huge stage and performance productions. I like that I can get a train directly to it. If you’re into being dead cool and going to small gigs, good for you, but don’t knock what is a decent venue.
I reviewed this mostly to rant.

Very nice venue for a conference! And, that covered sidewalk/​tube that crosses the highway to get to Argyle Street (think many cool pubs) and the train is brilliant!

I have been to a few gigs here over the years and have never heard one band get a decent sound in it.
The building itself is designed to squeeze as many people in and get as much cash out them while they are there. Thats my opinion anyway. But bands will play here as it hold a lot of people and they can maximise their audience. If they had spent a little care on the sound in the place, it would be an enjoyable place to go.
If you want to buy any food/​drink, don’t forget to go for a bank loan before you purchase it.

The SECC regularly plays host to concerts, gigs, shows and exhibitions of huge variety. It boasts a large number of large exhibition halls, which means that the place is HUGE.
As well as the exhibition halls, the SECC also has a stage and a number of bars/​cafes. (Generally of the Costa variety). The staff are usually quite friendly and knowledgeable about the various events. Plus, the venue is very easily reached via Glasgow’s low level train system — as it has its own dedicated station with the name «Exhibition Centre».
A really nice exhibition venue — and the size means that Glasgow often plays host to national Scottish exhibitions.

I used to love going to concerts at the SECC, walking underneath the familiar digital sign at the front which said «Tonight…Oasis» or whatever band I was going to see at the time. That sign still gives me goosebumps now, even when it says things like «April 2011… Michael Bolton.» Okay, maybe not when it says that.
Sadly the concert days at the SECC are almost over due to the new Scottish National Arena which is currently being constructed just east of the exhibition centre. This means the centre will mainly be used for conferences. However, its glory days will live forever in my heart.

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre hosts all the big conferences such as the Ideal Home Show and the Christmas Market as well as the arena tours like Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
People often complain about the SECC as a concert venue which I can agree with. The big halls lack a personal atmosphere and if you are sitting at the back, forget it. You might as well be watching it on tv.

There’s always something going on in here.
I’ve been loads of times for graduate recruitment fayres and memorabilia fayres but mainly for concerts.
Most of the big bands play here, with a huge capacity rather than a few nights at the 02.
The booze is over priced and so is the merchandise.
It’s also a nightmare if you’re driving when it’s a big gig or event.
I do have an affection for the place as it’s where most of the metal bands played when I was younger, but it’s not my favourite venue in Glasgow. It’s so big it’s quite impersonal and the sound suffers as a result too.

One of Scotland’s biggest venues for gigs and exhibitions, the SECC isn’t the most attractive of buildings, but due to the stuff that goes on here inevitably becomes a tourist attraction.
I’ve been to a few concerts here and all have been excellent, though the acoustics in the huge auditorium don’t always work the best. Due to the size of the venue, it tends to be fairly popular acts that play here, so if you’re a «hipster», you’ll probably have stopped liking a band by the time they play here.
It used to host the Tennents Sixes tournament before it was scrapped in the 90s, which was an interesting and slightly odd tournament now confined to the footnotes of Scottish football history.