Big backlash over smaller pool plan for new Vancouver Aquatic Centre sparks petition

This is the proposed design of the new $170-million Vancouver Aquatic Centre

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One of the driving reasons by Park Board staff for such an approach is that the existing facility’s 50-metre tank sees comparatively lower use compared to other pools in the city, and a new smaller 25-metre tank would enable the inclusion of a leisure pool for general community recreation and teaching.

Additionally, according to Park Board staff, there are spatial issues and geotechnical risis with the small waterfront site at Sunset Beach Park to achieve a larger building to accommodate both a replacement 50-metre pool and additional uses. For this reason, the proposed concept uses the exact same footprint of the 1974-built facility, which has been prioritized for a replacement project due to its advanced age and very poor condition. Planning for this project was expedited after a May 2022 incident when a part of the building exterior wall near the main entrance fell apart.

However, from the outset of the project’s planning process — and even during the years-long public consultation process for the Park Board’s city-wide VanSplash Aquatics Facilities Strategy, which was approved in 2019 — there was a widespread understanding that the new Vancouver Aquatic Centre would include a replacement 50-metre pool among its various new and improved features, fundamentally resulting in an expanded facility to serve the growing population.

The Park Board’s 2023 bidding process that ultimately selected Acton Ostry Architects to lead the project’s planning process also specifically noted the inclusion of a 50-metre pool, and a near doubling of the aquatic centre’s overall floor area.

Jeannie Lo, a volunteer and the president of Swim BC, the organization that oversees over 100 swim clubs across the province, representing more than 12,000 individuals, says this week’s revelation came as a shock.

In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized on Thursday, Lo said a new facility without a 50-metre pool would be “catastrophic” for the swim clubs and groups that use the existing aquatic centre, including the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club, which has been the anchor tenant of the facility since it first opened over 50 years ago. This swim club alone has over 350 members, with the vast majority being youth.

“We would have to consider reducing our programs and cutting probably half of our programming in order to find space for our swimmers to swim. It’s the end of one of the longest-serving swim clubs in the province,” she said.

In addition to the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club, which she also leads, Vancouver Aquatic Centre is used by two masters clubs, two water polo clubs, a diving club, and an underwater hockey club.

Without the rental revenue paid for by the swim clubs and groups, making way for a new strategy that has a greater reliance on individual swimmers, Lo warns the Park Board could see a net decrease in operating revenue at this facility.

She suggests that there is a misunderstanding of the actual facility needs and that the design places excessive emphasis on incorporating a limited type of leisure recreation facilities — specifically, the proposed leisure pool with a stepped beach entry and ramp, a children’s play area, and a hydrotherapy zone.

The concept also includes a 1,345 sq. ft. hot pool (nearly 14 times larger than the existing small hot pool) on the main pool deck, and a 5,000 sq. ft. fitness gym (over three times larger than the existing fitness gym) on an upper level.

Leisure pools are an increasingly common feature in new aquatic centres. But there is a great need for additional lap swimming space for other leisure needs, she emphasized.

“When I say leisure, we’re talking about people that want the lap space — they want to swim for exercise, and they want to swim for health. They don’t want to just go into a hot tub and float around in circles in a lazy river,” she said.

She suggests that the need for fitness gyms and hot tubs in this part of the city is relatively lower, given that an increasing number of residential buildings in downtown Vancouver offer these amenities in-house for residents.

But fundamentally, there are very few 50-metre pools in or near Vancouver.

The only other 50-metre pool operated by the Park Board is at the busy Hillcrest Centre, which is technically shorter than 50 metres when the width of the movable bulkhead is accounted for. As well, the pool design at Hillcrest Centre did not account for the spatial needs of competitions, as it does not have enough deck space for both swimmers and spectators.

After Hillcrest Centre, the nearest 50-metre pool is UBC Aquatic Centre, but it has limited public availability, with a select number of user groups able to rent pool time.

Lo also challenges the Park Board’s assessment of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre’s limited use for events since the mid-1990s, noting that the existing facility hosts only a few competitions each year. She attributes this to the design of the current 50-metre pool — both ends of the existing 50-metre pool are less than half a foot too shallow for swimmers to safely dive in at the start of a race, according to Swimming Canada regulations.

“It’s not that we don’t want to. We can’t use a 50-metre tank for competition because of the way the pool is constructed. If there was a 50-meter pool available in the downtown core, it would be a prime candidate for a provincial meet or any higher-level meet,” she told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“Provincial meets, national meets, and international competitions need an Olympic-sized pool. Only very few facilities in the entire province can host a provincial and higher meet at the moment.”

The proposed concept also reduces the facility’s spectator seating capacity from 500 in the existing facility to about 250. Lo says this is insufficient for competitions and that a minimum of 500 seats is ideal.

Staff with the Park Board also cited the colder water temperature of the existing pool to be a deterrent for some leisure users. However, Lo countered that this is due to the facility’s design, as water from the deep diving pool circulates into the 50-metre lap pool. If the diving and 50-metre pools had independent systems, this would address the comfortable temperature issue.

While the proposed concept reduces lap swimming space to introduce a leisure pool, it would enhance the diving pool by adding more platforms and synchronized diving springboards.

The recommendation to not proceed with an expanded facility with a replacement 50-metre pool is also due in part to construction costs, according to Park Board staff. As proposed, this facility with a 25-metre lap pool as its main tank will cost $170 million, which is already $30 million more than the approved budget of $140 million. The project’s cost is largely funded by the municipal government’s ability to obtain a $103-million loan to cover construction financing, which was approved in a plebiscite question in the 2022 civic election ballot.

However, the municipal government is legally required to award major contracts and begin construction before the end of 2026; otherwise, it will lose access to these funds, and the project would risk being significantly delayed. Park Board staff assert that a decision to redesign the new facility to incorporate a 50-metre pool could result in the project missing this funding timeline window.

Park Board commissioners will review and decide on the proposed concept in a public meeting on Monday. The matter is also expected to be presented to City Council in March 2025, as the Park Board is requesting the City to cover $21 million of the $30-million construction cost escalation.

“Is it impossible to replace this tank? No, it’s about choices,” Lo told Daily Hive Urbanized.

In this rare controversy over a community and recreation facility’s design, hundreds of individuals who also signed the online petition in support of a 50-metre pool also left comments urging Park Board commissioners to redirect their staff to change the design concept.

Fiona Jackson wrote, “Hot tubs and lazy river leisure centres might bring in more people, but that does not support athletics. Vancouver, at the moment, has an aging population but is very active and has others have said already has a deficit of pools per population compared to suburbs. It is SO shortsighted to not build for a vibrant growing city with a state-of-the-art centre to build future athletes. Especially for a city built on the water, we should be nurturing strong swimmers and celebrating everything aquatic… This planned reduced pool (as with plans across the city), favours a limited approach that turns aquatic centres into relaxation centres that both caters to short-term budgets and reflects a skewed perception of aquatic athletics as optional and unnecessary or only for the privileged.”

David Neufeld wrote, “Vancouver has a severe shortage of indoor pools, especially 50-metre pools to be used for training. Losing pools means losing lifeguard training as well.”

Huilin Newtington wrote, “Vancouver Aquatic Centre has been a vital hub for swimmers and athletes for decades. Reducing it to 25 metres will take away training space for multiple clubs, each with hundreds of swimmers. We practice here, hold games every Sunday, and rely on this facility. While other cities are building 50-metre pool facilities, Vancouver is spending money on more leisure pools instead of supporting competitive and community swimming.”

And Karhy Elissat also wrote, “The city is desperately in need for more pool space, not less! The value and use from an Olympic-sized, 50-metre pool cannot be underestimated! From local to national and even international swim meets and aquatic events for those of all ages, for swim groups, lessons, sports teams and so on… a single 25-metre pool will not cut it! Come on Vancouver, be the world-class city you know you are and build what the city actually requires — a full-size, 50-metre pool and facility! My daughter is a proud member of the Pacific Swim Academy and regularly uses the Vancouver Aquatic Centre. This is an incredible club supporting our youth to excel aquatics and life saving.”

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