Park board approves 25-metre pool for renovated Vancouver Aquatic Centre
Staff motion said 50-metre pool, which was preferred by swim clubs, wasn't possible without more funding
A majority of Vancouver Park Board commissioners voted Monday to approve a staff plan to install a 25-metre pool as part of a renovation to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, in a saga that has now lasted over a month.
Staff had put forward a $170-million proposal last month to renovate the West End facility near Sunset Beach, which included a 25-metre lap pool, dive platforms, a leisure pool and other recreational amenities.
However, swim clubs were overwhelmingly against the staff proposal, with over 70 speakers telling park board commissioners that not having an Olympic-sized, 50-metre pool would limit competitive opportunities.
That prompted a majority of commissioners to ask staff to look at the 50-metre pool option, with staff given a month to do so.
However, in a report published last week and ultimately passed on Monday, staff said that a 50-metre pool option was simply impossible without more funding, and would also mean the building footprint would have to be expanded.
"Due to the mixed-land tenure, pursuing an alternative option and expanding into Sunset Beach Park would require resolution with the Province and the host First Nations," reads the report.
"Additional assessments would be required, including archeology, geology, soil stability, sea-level rise, among others."
Park board staff said it wasn't feasible to deliver a 50-metre pool within the existing building footprint, while also meeting industry standards for maintenance and accessibility.
The overwhelming majority of speakers who came to the park board meeting Monday were against the staff proposal. Meanwhile, commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky's amendment to the proposal, which would have asked staff to look into expanding the centre footprint, was defeated.
"While we fully recognize the impact on our existing swimming community from the exclusion of the 50-metre pool, this recommendation looks to best balance against the risk of service losses by limiting our downtime only to the project construction schedule," said park board general manager Steve Jackson on Monday.
According to the plan, renovation work on the Vancouver Aquatic Centre could begin by the end of 2026, and it would reopen in 2029.
Pool at end of lifespan
The aging Vancouver Aquatic Centre made headlines in March 2022 after a large piece of the building's facade fell off. The facility was built in 1974 and is described as being at "the end of its functional lifespan"
In the 2022 municipal election, voters supported the renewal of the aquatic centre in a plebiscite, with the vote requiring construction to commence by the end of 2026 as part of a $103-million funding plan.
Green park board commissioner Tom Digby said last week that the staff report showed that the current usage rate of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre was at around 30 per cent.
"It's because it's often in the full competitive format of 50 metres, and that does not allow a high density of users," he told Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On The Coast. "It allows a small density of very active users."
Digby argued that all other pools in the city were at much higher usage rates and the park board was already squeezing money from the rest of the system to fund the aquatic centre renovation.
Park board staff have said that, after the 25-metre pool renovation plan passed, they would increase the time at which other pools in the city are run at 50-metre configurations, including at Hillcrest pool in Queen Elizabeth Park.
They had said if commissioners had voted down the proposal which includes the 25-metre pool, they would have had to go back to the drawing board, seek a new plebiscite and find funding in the 2027-30 capital plan.
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With files from On The Coast