Cooling your heels at an outdoor pool
Posted Jul 25, 2011 1:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hot times, summer in the city means a trip to one of the seven outdoor pools in Calgary.
The high temperatures the past two days has led to a spike in business at the Mount Pleasant pool in the northwest, which is open thanks to a group of volunteers working to ensure that outdoor swimming in Calgary doesn’t go the way of the drive-in theatre.
“On a nice hot summer’s day, this place is a magnet,” says pool director Roger Leach who is one of those volunteers. “You know, we turn people away.”
On a day like Monday, the line-up forms before the pool opens and often stays that way until closing time.
“On the hot days, all the pools are full,” notes Leach. “But people usually don’t have to wait too long. As soon as somebody goes out, somebody else comes in. So we don’t turn them away.”
The pools are also in contact with each other and staff will happily guide you to another pool with less of a queue.
Leach says with an 80 day season and a million dollar maintenance budget, the success of an outdoor pool very much depends on the weather. He adds a growing number of entertainment alternatives doesn’t help outdoor pools reach the break even mark either. But back in its day, the new Mount Pleasant pool was the Playstation 3 of its generation.
“This pool was opened in 1955,” says Leach. “It was such a big deal, they had a parade through the community. There were no other facilities.”
But midway through the 2011 outdoor season, attendance and revenues are up at the outdoor pool. Will it continue?
“I’m not a meteorologist,” laughs Leach. “David Spence probably could tell you better.”
Based on pool revenues, Leach says 2005 was the last hot summer we had.
The Mount Pleasant pool has been at or near capacity for two straight days.
