An opening date of summer 2019 has been set by the partners involved in building The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA), which aims to provide a new world-class facility for Scotland.
The TECA arena, conference centre and exhibition building is part of the wider £333m (€380.9m/$437.3m) AECC project which includes two on-site hotels, an energy centre, extensive landscaping and parking.
The entire site is being built by Aberdeen City Council along with development partner Henry Boot Developments (HBD), and main contractor Robertson Group. The local authority has financed the development through the £370m issue of a bond on the London Stock Exchange, a first time that a Scottish council has engaged in such an initiative.
Located beside Aberdeen International Airport, the 12,500-capacity main arena will host conferences, exhibitions and music concerts, and is expected to attract major artists and events to the city. The facility will also boast three further conference/exhibition halls, four multi-purpose conference suites, and nine meeting rooms.
A firm opening date has not yet been set, but September is being targeted. The interiors of the facility are being fitted out with progress on internal blockwork, metal stud partitions, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations continuing, and rooms taking shape include the main area, exhibition halls and conference rooms.
The facility is expected to contribute an additional 4.5 million visitors, £113m of visitor spend and £63m net Gross Value Added to the Scottish economy. Stakeholders have said it will also result in the creation of 352 full-time-equivalent permanent positions by year 10 of operations.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader, Councillor Jenny Laing, said: “We want to attract major artists and new events to the north-east to ensure the area competes on a global scale and TECA plays a major part of that, as part of our Regional Economic Strategy which has internationalisation at its heart.”
Nigel Munro, regional project manager for HBD in Scotland, added: “Work on the internal fit-out is progressing quickly, so what has for a long time felt like a huge engineering project is now really starting to come to life as TECA. The build programme remains on schedule and the finish line is now in sight for this flagship project for Aberdeen and the north east.”
Image: AECC
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