By Gary Anderson

January 28 - The SSE Hydro Arena will now play host to the finals of the netball competition at Glasgow 2014 ©Getty Images Glasgow 2014 organisers today confirmed the SSE 12,000-capacity Hydro Arena will be used for the finals of the netball competition at this year's Commonwealth Games.

The announcement comes after organisers were criticised for scheduling the semi-finals and final of one of the most popular sports at the Games for the 4,000 capacity Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC).

However, following the conducting of a "feasibility" study looking into the possibility of moving the finals stages of the netball competition to the much larger Hydro Arena located near the SECC, Glasgow 2014 has decided to stage the matches in the larger arena after all.

The main stumbling block was the logistics of turning around the arena in time for the netball competition which follows on from the Games boxing finals the night before.

A successful test transition involving a team of 80 working to remove the boxing ring, floor seating and signage plus laying the netball floor, installing goal posts and reconfiguring the surroundings has resulted in a decision to relocate the finals to the Hydro.

Rehearsals for medal ceremonies, athlete walkthrough and simulated mixed zones for media were also carried out to check the timings and flows for the event, according to organisers.

The success of the transition will now see a netball floor laid overnight after the last boxing event finishes at 10:00pm on Saturday, August 2.

The full turnaround will be complete for netball medal matches starting at 10:00am on Sunday August 3.

Both the bronze medal and gold medal netball matches will now be played at the SSE Hydro with earlier matches in the competition remaining in the SECC Halls.

The netball finals are due to place on the closing day of the Games and will be among the last medals to be awarded at Glasgow 2014.

More people will be able to attend the final of the netball at the Commonwealth Games after Glasgow 2014 moved them to the 12,000 capacity SSE Hydro Arena ©Getty ImagesMore people will be able to attend the final of the netball at the Commonwealth Games after Glasgow 2014 moved them to the 12,000 capacity SSE Hydro Arena ©Getty Images

"The Commonwealth Games is a high point of the international Netball calendar and it is pleasing that the culmination of this world-class competition will be played out in front of an even larger crowd," said Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg.

"Hosting the finals at the SSE Hydro promises to deliver a fantastic atmosphere for the world's greatest netball athletes in one of Europe's newest, most exciting venues.

"We have been rigorous in our testing of the transition time required between boxing and netball and we are confident, working with the International Netball Federation, of delivering an outstanding finals day for our Commonwealth athletes in front of packed crowds."

Details of the sale of extra tickets for the bronze and gold medal matches will be announced in due course said Glasgow 2014 organisers.

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