Aquatic Centre 50m pool gets $7.5m upgrade

The 50m outdoor pool at the Aquatic Centre will close for five months. Photo/Supplied

The Rotorua Lakes Council has approved a tender for the renovation of the 50m outdoor pool at the Aquatic Centre with construction due to start next Friday.

Contractors will begin setting up for the $7.5 million upgrade at the centre from Friday, September 11 with construction scheduled to take five months.

The upgrade work includes:
· increase pool depth to 1.4m to meet International Swimming Federation standards
· adding extra length for a bulkhead that can be moved to create two 25m pools
· a new filtration system
· a PoolPod accessibility lift
· new decking/pool surround

Rotorua Lakes Council's Operations Group manager Jocelyn Mikaere says this has always been an important project for the community and it's exciting that work is about to get underway.

'The upcoming improvements are just the start of the journey to create a facility that our community will be proud of.

"The upgrades will build upon the benefits that the centre provides to Rotorua as a place for recreation and sport and, most importantly, for gaining confidence in and around water.

'The 50m pool is a regional sports asset and we are looking to enhance that offering to attract more visitors and users from across the Bay of Plenty and Central North Island. This is a major milestone and we look forward to opening the upgraded facility in the new year,” Jocelyn says.

This work is a key component of a wider plan to redevelop the Rotorua Aquatic Centre.

The 50m pool is the only heated outdoor pool of that length in New Zealand available for use all year round making it an attractive facility for athlete training camps, tournaments and a variety of aquatic activities.

The upgrades will not only improve the experience for locals but will bolster the centre's offerings as a high-quality training and competition facility.

The work to renovate the pool will take about five months and pool users will need to use the indoor facilities during this time.

The outdoor pool is planned to be available again early in 2021.

Swimming Bay of Plenty chairperson Bronwen Radford says their organisation is looking forward to seeing the renovated 50m pool.

'We are incredibly excited to see the redevelopment of the 50m Aquatic Centre pool. Rotorua is well-known among our swimming colleagues from around New Zealand as a fantastic place to come and train.

'This redevelopment is not just about the competitive arm of swimming but more importantly, it benefits the local clubs and all the community-based programmes currently operating out of the 50m pool.

"This redevelopment will give more members of our community the opportunity to get out, be active, and experience swimming as individuals or as a family,” says Bronwen.

For more information about the project visit www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/poolupgrade.

Aquatic Centre key facts:
· For the last two years, the centre has recorded more than 330,000 visits per year.
· In the 2019/2020 year, the centre had more than 7000 enrolments in Learn to Swim programmes
· The Aquatic Centre hosts 12 family fun days a year to encourage families to come and enjoy an affordable day out at the pools
· In the 2019/2020 year, 3780 children attended a water skills programme through their school
· The 50m pool was built in 1974 making it almost 50 years old.

For more information about the project visit www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/poolupgrade.

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