Calgary city council finalizes closure of Inglewood Aquatic Centre
Posted Oct 9, 2024 9:48 am.
It hosted swim meets, lessons, and birthday parties for more than 60 years, but the Inglewood Aquatic Centre will permanently close at the end of the year.
The pool’s fate was decided in a narrow vote by city council to uphold a ruling three years ago to shut it down over ballooning costs and critical repairs.
At a Tuesday meeting, councillors voted 8-7 to speed up plans to close the inner-city facility.
In May, council learned the facility was in need of major electrical repairs. Administration says those fixes would come with a price tag of $600,000.
Operational funding rings in at $400,000 per year, according to the city, meaning closing it would save $1.4 million annually.
“If you keep this open, the money that they have to spend to keep this open is going to be taken from another facility, because we also have not offered them more money to manage the space,” Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said, explaining the scenario was brought about due to budget cuts in 2019.
“I don’t want to be here, but many people, many councillors, this is the consequence of those types of actions,” he added.
Administration said the aquatic facility has outlasted its lifespan by more than two decades.
Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra calls it unfortunate, but agrees the facility’s shelf life is nearing.
“We have to deliver for the citizens of Calgary, a very thoughtfully, dispersed-along-the-landscape suite of recreation facilities and other recreational amenities,” he said. “We have to have a serious conversation about how we deliver services, how we invest in our future.”
Coun. Sonya Sharp, who voted against the move, admitted the nail in the coffin came with the initial vote in 2021.
“The one thing is Calgary, and Calgarians, rely on these facilities for their physical and mental health, families, single parents, swim lessons, day camps — you name it. It brings people together in promoting a healthy lifestyle,” she said.
She later tweeted it was only last week Vecova announced it was shutting down, another devastating blow to the city’s aquatic community.
Former councillor Jeromy Farkas also got in on the conversation, saying on social media ‘If a billionaire owned the pool, it would be saved.’
The centre first opened in the 1960s and was home to a six-lane, indoor pool, an aquatic climbing wall, a dry sauna, and a multipurpose room.
The closure of Inglewood’s Aquatic Centre was contingent on the completion of additions to the MNP Community & Sport Centre.
It is slated to close on Dec. 22.
Costs of demolition an site remediation are expected next year,
