Sportsplex looks for ways to reinvent itself

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This article was published 19/08/2010 (5678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Confirmation that the Sportplex pool will close two months after the completion of the new YMCA has spurred discussions about what’s in store for the space.

Despite the loss of the pool, the Sportsplex will remain an important recreation hub as outlined by the city’s Recreation Facilities Master Plan, manager Perry Roque said.

"Now, since council has decided that the pool will be decommissioned, we’re thinking more seriously about how that side of our operation will be reinvented based on what the community would like to see," Roque told the Sun.

A series of public consultation meetings garnered important insight into what the community envisioned for the space in 2006, but a series of additional meetings will be scheduled as soon as the YMCA project progresses further.

"It has been four years, and the community has changed dramatically since," Roque said. "This reinvention will be exciting. There’s some things that are happening in the field of recreation and sport in other cities in Canada that we’ve been exploring and researching."

It’s no secret the space has been tagged as an ideal location for an indoor multipurpose sports centre or fieldhouse that could include a soccer pitch, volleyball and basketball courts and a track.

With plans for Brandon University’s new Healthy Living Centre and the Dood Cristall Family YMCA moving ahead, it’s imperative the reinvention of the Sportsplex offers something unique, Roque said.

"It will all be dictated by what the public wants, what the community needs and what we are willing to spend," he said.

Meanwhile, although Sportsplex staff have been busy fielding questions from concerned patrons, Roque says in the end, the dedicated swimmers won’t have a problem switching to the YMCA.

Long-time Aquafit enthusiast Marlene Packham, however, says she’s not so sure.

Packham has been getting her fall and winter workouts in at the Sportsplex three times a week for the past five years and says when the pool’s closure was confirmed, she started thinking about changing her routine.

"It seems like (council) went and made a decision and the people, the users, don’t have a say," Packham said. "They keep on assuring us that the new pool will be big enough and it won’t cost any more to go, but I’d like to actually see it on paper."

In an interview with the Sun in 2009, Brandon Bluefins Swim Club head coach Barb Fay also expressed her concerns with the then-proposed YMCA project.

Although the Bluefins’ current pool time will be honoured at the YMCA, the reality is the city will be down to one pool instead of two, Fay said.

"The city is growing, and you’re going to cut back to one pool? It seems to be a step backward no matter how nice of light it’s presented in," Fay said, adding that a six-lane pool curtails the club’s ability to host a provincial swim meet or high-calibre meets that require an eight-lane pool.

A complete review and analysis of the YMCA project and the closure of the Sportsplex is available at the City of Brandon website.

 

 

Sportsplex pool still packing them in

As the clock ticks slowly towards closing day, the Sportsplex pool continues to draw in good crowds and maintain a strong revenue base, manager Perry Roque told the Sun.

In 2008, pool revenues sat at $335,000 and climbed to $348,000 in 2009. This year, revenues from rentals, lessons and public swimming are expected to draw approximately $337,000.

To date, public swim revenues and swim pass sales alone sit just under $60,000. Overall, there has been an increase in swim passes sold, while public swim numbers are maintaining the status quo, Roque said.

Meanwhile, comparing the number of swimmers who visit either the Sportsplex or the current YMCA is difficult as the number of children in a school group, for example, aren’t tallied or charged a regular rate.

YMCA CEO Lon Cullen says monitoring the number of swimmers over a one-year period is nearly impossible because visitors pay for a one-day guest membership and then are free to use the fitness equipment, the pool or the gymnasium.

The same concept will be applied at the new YMCA.

Construction of the Dood Cristall Family YMCA will start next spring and is expected to wrap up within two years time. City council approved an amendment Monday evening to ensure the Sportsplex pool closes two months following the commissioning of the YMCA.

» Brandon Sun