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 OVO 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 SEC Centre buildings began on the site in 1983.[6]
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 SEC Centre 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 SEC Centre 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]
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]
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 OVO Hydro, a 12,500 seat, £50 million concert arena for the SECC, which opened as "SSE Hydro" in September 2013.[12]
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 SEC Centre where they entertained over 380,000 fans over the years, selling more tickets than any other act.[19]
The SEC Centre hosted the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Originally scheduled to be held in 2020, the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the same pandemic, the SEC Centre was turned into a COVID-19 critical care hospital under the name NHS Louisa Jordan, and run by NHS Scotland.[20] Initially (as of April 8, 2020), it had 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 in October and November 2021.[22]
References
^"SECC Car Park". City Parking (Glasgow). Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
.jpg)
