SEC Centre

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SEC Centre
Facade of SEC Centre, February 2018
Glass-fronted entrance of venue (c.2018)
Address Exhibition Way
Glasgow
G3 8YW
Location Glasgow, Scotland, UK
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Owner SEC Limited
Inaugurated 27 November 1985 (1985-11-27)
Opened 6 September 1985 (1985-09-06)
Renovated 2000
Construction cost
 £36 million
Former names
 Scottish Exhibition Centre (planning/construction)
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (1985–2017)
Banquet/ballroom 400 (Loch Suite)
100 (Seminar Suite)
72 (Gala Room)
624 (Lomond Auditorium)
300 (Forth Room)
Theatre seating
 10,000 (Concert Hall 4)
5,000 (Concert Hall 3)
Enclosed space
 • Exhibit hall floor 23,355 m2 (251,391 sq ft)
 • Breakout/meeting 4,431 m2 (47,695 sq ft)
Parking 1,600 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities
 18 spaces[2]
Public transit access Exhibition Centre railway station
Website www.sec.co.uk

The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the three main venues within the Scottish Event Campus.[3]

Since the opening of the original buildings in 1985, the complex has undergone two major expansions; the first being the SEC Armadillo in 1997, and then the SSE Hydro in 2013. The venue's holding company SEC Limited, is 91% owned by Glasgow City Council and 9% owned by private investors. It is probably best known for hosting concerts, particularly in Hall 4 and Hall 3.

Development history

The Scottish Development Agency first supported the construction of an exhibition centre in Glasgow in 1979. A site at the former Queen's Dock on the north bank of the Clyde at Finnieston, which had closed to navigation in 1969, was selected.[4][5] Land reclamation works started in 1982 using rubble from the demolished St Enoch railway station. The construction of the SECC buildings began on the site in 1983.[6]

Main Building

The Main Building was completed and opened in 1985, with a concert by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Hall 1. It later held the Grand International Show in Hall 4 as part of the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival. In 1990, the SECC was one of the hubs of Glasgow's year as European City of Culture.[7]

Upon its opening, the Centre quickly gained its nickname from the local press and thus to general usage, "The Big Red Shed", owing to its outward appearance, which resembled a giant red painted warehouse. The nickname became redundant after the Main Building was expanded and painted grey in 1997.[8]

The SECC occupies 64 acres (260,000 m2) of land – most of which is surface car parking space – and hosts numerous music concerts, exhibitions and professional conferences. The SECC also has its own railway station, Exhibition Centre, on the Argyle Line of Glasgow's suburban railway network. The 16 storey Forum Hotel (now part of the Crowne Plaza chain) was opened on the site in 1989.[9]

In September 1996, a new 5,095 m2 (54,840 sq ft) exhibition hall, Hall 3, was opened.[10]

SEC Armadillo

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Main article: SEC Armadillo
The Clyde Auditorium with the main SECC building behind it

In September 1995, construction began on a new building – the Clyde Auditorium – to become part of the SECC complex. Designed by award-winning architect Sir Norman Foster and often called "the armadillo" by Glaswegians, this new 3,000 capacity building was completed in August 1997.[11]

Queens Dock 2 expansion

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Main article: SSE Hydro

In April 2004, the owners SEC Ltd again commissioned Foster and Partners to design a £562 million regeneration of the Queen's Dock area, under the name QD2 – so called as this is the second regeneration of the former Queen's Dock area since the centre's inception. This project incorporated SSE Hydro, a 12,500 seat, £50 million concert arena for the SECC, which opened in September 2013.[12]

Shows and events

The venue hosted the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008.[13] The SECC hosted the Girls' Day Out Show in 2009, 2010 and 2012.[14] It staged The Scottish Golf Show in 2009 and 2010.[15] The venue annually stages the popular BBC Good Food Show.[16] On 15 November 2015, it played host to Insane Championship Wrestling's biggest show of the year, Fear & Loathing VIII.[17]

It also was the biggest selling show in British wrestling history since Big Daddy fought Giant Haystacks at Wembley Arena in 1981.[18]

The SECC hosted the World Science Fiction convention twice, as Intersection, the 53rd World Science Fiction convention in 1995, and Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in 2005 (including the SEC Armadillo). In June 2012, Irish pop band Westlife were honoured with four specially commissioned bar stools (to be a permanent fixture at the venue) to mark 49 performances at the SECC where they entertained over 380,000 fans over the years, selling more tickets than any other act.[19]

NHS Louisa Jordan

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Main article: NHS Louisa Jordan

The SEC Centre was planned to host the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference. That conference was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the same pandemic, the SEC Centre has been turned into a COVID-19 critical care hospital under the name NHS Louisa Jordan, and ran by NHS Scotland.[20] Initially (as of April 8, 2020), it will create capacity for 300 beds, with an expansion to over 1,000 if needed.[21] The venue was never used for COVID-19 critical care and was instead used for medical appointments, blood donations, staff training and COVID-19 vaccinations.[22] Work began in July 2021 to prepare it for hosting the rescheduled Climate Change Conference.[22]

References

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External links

Preceded by Eurovision Dance Contest
Venue
2008		 Succeeded by
Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex
Baku

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Glasgow Harbour 1932 (Burrell Collection Photo Library) Archived 6 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Glasgow Story
  5. ↑ Glasgow, general view, showing Queen's Dock and Yorkhill Hospital. Oblique aerial photograph taken facing north (1934) Archived 3 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Canmore
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Scottish tribute to Westlife's signature bar stool move Archived 28 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Evening Standard, 20 June 2012
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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