EXCLUSIVE

MORE than 1500 curlers in 80 clubs and thousands more skaters and ice hockey players in Glasgow have been made homeless.

The Summit Centre, Finnieston ''will never reopen'' operator Peggy Smith said yesterday.

Clubs there have been told no bookings will be taken for next season, and members now face a scramble for places in rinks outwith the city.

The shutdown follows damning engineers' reports on the rink, which is sinking, and on cracks in the building. It is understood subsoil, in an area riddled with tunnels, has washed away in floods caused by the River Kelvin bursting its banks two years ago.

The sport's governing body, the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, will have to find new venues for the televised Scottish curling championships in 1999 and the Scottish junior championships over the next three years.

There is also an embarrassing knock-on effect from the closure of Glasgow's only curling facility. It currently revels in the title ''City of Sport'' in a bid to become headquarters for the Scottish Institute of Sport, aimed at delivering world-class competitors.

Curling is one of the Scottish Sports Council's so called ''level-one'' sports which will qualify for the institute, due to begin next year and be manned by leading coaches from throughout the world. Edinburgh and Stirling are also battling for the headquarters.

One curling expert warned last night that the closure will be a blow the sport will find difficulty recovering from. He added some clubs may find themselves ''unable to carry on''.

The sport has seen a fall in active membership, and depends on centres like the Summit to attract children by hosting schools and junior championships.

This year, the RCCC has sponsored a Curling is Cool initiative in schools, with the Summit a key venue.

The centre's problems first surfaced in September when pipes, which chill the salt water to create the rinks, burst.

Ms Smith said yesterday: ''Now, after exposing the floor, our worst fears have come to light. The damage is extensive.''

She thanked members for their support in ''good times and bad,'' and said those with debentures would be refunded.

The president of the RCCC, Mr Andrew Stevenson, said it was a sad day for players in Glasgow, now facing travel to rinks in towns such as Greenock, Hamilton, Kilmarnock, and Paisley.

He added: ''I feel very sorry for Peggy. It is a very sad situation. I am also sad Glasgow has lost its only ice rink, and that this city does not have such a facility.''

The centre, with six rinks and an Olympic-sized ice hockey rink, opened in 1986 and has staged women's and junior world curling championships.