Suspicious fire damages Sporting Globe pub in Geelong

A witness allegedly saw someone run from the scene of a suspicious fire at a pub in central Geelong on Boxing Day night. WATCH THE VIDEO.

A witness allegedly saw someone run from the scene of a suspicious fire at a pub in central Geelong on Boxing Day night.

The back door and beer garden at The Sporting Globe on Ryrie St was damaged by fire overnight.

The blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes and the damage it left behind was largely cosmetic.

Blake Brooks told the Geelong Advertiser he was sitting in McDonalds just after 1am on Friday, when he heard “popping” and an alarm go off.

“(We) walked out and saw all the smoke so we went to follow it to have a look,” Mr Brooks said.

“We had seen someone on the phone - we assumed to the fire department - and then they ran off, and about a minute later two fire trucks arrived.”

Mr Brooks said the group had their suspicious about the person for a while, but they were unsure if it was deliberate or not.

The police investigation into the suspicious fire remains ongoing. A police spokeswoman said there was no update as of Saturday morning.

An arson chemist attended the site on Friday morning.

EARLIER: Police are investigating a suspicious fire after the beer garden at The Sporting Globe in Geelong was damaged by flames.

Firefighters, who were called to the Ryrie St venue at 1.03am on Friday, found the back door alight and extinguished the blaze in 10 minutes.

The pub was closed when the fire started and no one was inside at the time.

The damage was mainly cosmetic and the interior of the building was not damaged but still had no power as of 1.30pm on Friday.

Burnt debris littered the footpath on Union St outside the Sporting Globe. Picture: Alison Wynd

Sporting Globe owner and chief executive James Sinclair said they were aiming for a quick turnaround.

“We anticipate the beer garden won’t reopen for a little bit of time until some remediation works happen,” he said.

However, the restaurant and functions room were expected to be up and running over the weekend.

“It’s a shame because the beer garden is such an important part of the business, especially in summer with Boxing Day Test on the big screen,” he said.

“It is what it is and we are grateful that no one was hurt.”

The venue’s New Year’s Eve party will go ahead and be relocated upstairs inside the building.

Earlier, Union St and part of the footpath on Ryrie St were been closed off to the public while police examined the scene.

An arson chemist was set to attend on Friday to help with the investigation.

Mr Sinclair opened the original Sporting Globe Bar and Grill in Geelong 15 years ago at the age of 24.

The sports bar chain now has 13 locations across Victoria as well as in NSW, Queensland, and Western Australia.

Originally published as Suspicious fire damages Sporting Globe pub in Geelong