THE opening date for Scotland's major new entertainment hub has been hit by further uncertainty after a fire ripped through the roof of the building at the weekend.
Investigations are now under way into the weekend blaze, which engulfed a part of the domed roof at the Hydro near the River Clyde.
Around 40 firefighters were called to the site of the £125 million construction on Saturday afternoon and had to deploy "high-reach" appliances to tackle the fire, which was put out by early evening. No-one was hurt in the incident.
The new venue's bosses at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) said they cannot confirm whether the fire will delay its opening.
They also confirmed it will be at least a week before it is known how much the fire will impact on the venue's completion date.
The 12,000-seat arena, sponsored by Scottish Hydro, had been scheduled to open on September 30 with a performance by Rod Stewart.
Other entertainers scheduled to appear are Fleetwood Mac, Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, The Proclaimers, Simple Minds and Jessie J.
SECC chief John Sharkey said promoters had been informed of the fire and would be kept updated of any developments.
He also confirmed the location of the blaze had been identified, but there was no official confirmation of the cause.
He said: "The fire started in an area underneath the external roof gutter. A rubber covering over the packaging caught fire between the outside and inside of the construction.
"When the building is complete, this covering will be in a fire-contained area."
A further statement confirmed that Lend Lease, the building's main contractors, were on site yesterday to start an assessment of the damage and to take a full structural assessment of the building.
A spokesman for the SECC said: "We expect it will be at least a week before the full implications are worked through and we are then advised of the impact on the completion date.
"Apologies for the uncertainty, but we want to be absolutely sure all issues arising from [the fire] are resolved so that the opening is safe, secure and delivers the world-class venue we all want."
Scottish Fire and Rescue confirmed that an investigation is under way in conjunction with Police Scotland.
A spokeswoman for the UK's Health and Safety Executive also said it had been made aware of the fire and would be making "preliminary inquiries".
It is not the first controversy in the troubled construction of the venue, which was conceived in order to free up the nearby SECC for more exhibitions and encourage more major music acts to play Glasgow.
Glasgow City Council has already had to bail out the scheme by more than £40m after a private-sector partner pulled out, sparking ongoing friction between the SECC and the authority, which owns more than 90% of the business.
There was also controversy amid reports the venue was up to two months behind schedule, partly due to a £9m dispute with Lend Lease, with board members warned some gigs could be cancelled.
However, Mr Sharkey said that issues had been resolved and that he was "confident" of opening on time.
It will be at least a week before the implications are known and we are advised of the impact on the completion date
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