Inglewood Pool closure adds concern for recreation amenities in Calgary’s inner city

The Inglewood Pool’s impending closure is cutting deep for some residents, but also raising concerns about the loss of amenities in Calgary’s inner city neighbourhoods.

In a narrow 8-7 vote, Calgary city council finalized its decision to close the aquatic centre Tuesday.

“Just sadness for me and my family who come here every week,” said Salla Carson, an Inglewood resident.

The accelerated timeline has the pool officially closing on Dec. 22, after an assessment found the facility is in need of critical repairs to its electrical system at a cost of $600,000. The repairs would also require a three-month closure.

The pool’s closure will mark the fourth recreation facility to close in Calgary in recent years, after Vecova announced its intention to close its health and fitness facility for people with disabilities due to high operating costs and aging infrastructure.

The Eau Claire YMCA also shut down in 2021, followed by the city-run Beltline Aquatic and Fitness Centre later that year.

The decision to close both the Inglewood and Beltline pools came as part of budget cuts in 2019, after being identified as having “significantly higher costs-per-visit compared to other comparable city-operated facilities, making them unsustainable in the long-term.”

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But given a recent push for more inner-city redevelopment from the city, Inglewood residents are confused by the removal of amenities.

“The city is pushing for more density, which is great because we need housing,” said Fiona McKenzie, an Inglewood resident of 25 years.

It’s a troubling trend for the Calgary Downtown Association (CDA) with an increased focus on revitalization, and attracting people to move to the core.

CDA president Mark Garner told Global News the office-to-residential conversion program is successful, but there is concern over a widening gap of amenities in the inner-city.

“When you lose amenities like this, where do the kids go? Families live within these communities,” Garner said. “It’s integral to the vision we have for downtown so we’ve got to start a strategy to put these amenities back.”

Currently, the MNP Community and Sports Centre is looking to fill the recreation amenities gap in the inner city, with a growing demand since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pre-construction work is underway on an expansion of the facility, to which the city has contributed $57.7 million, which is expected to be complete in early 2027.

According to facility CEO Jeff Booke, the upgrades will feature gathering spaces like party rooms and coffee shops, universal and accessible change rooms, as well as a new recreational swimming area with a lazy river and water slides.

“We’re working with the City of Calgary to see an expansion of services very purposely to communities that extend far beyond the typical catchment area,” Booke told Global News. “We anticipate a big uptick which is why we’ve contemplated things like gathering spaces for people.”

According to the city, the Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre will add a seventh day of service following its reopening later this month, and weekend hours will also be increased, in response to the closure of the Inglewood Pool.

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In the longer term, city officials said it will present a new strategy to council early next year to guide the “long-term vision for inclusive, accessible, and sustainable recreation services.”

“GamePLAN will raise awareness that city-operated aquatic, arena, athletic park and fieldhouse facilities continue to require significant capital investment in repairs,” the city said in a statement. “GamePLAN includes a decision-making framework to guide where and when the construction of new, enhanced, or consolidated facilities should occur.”

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The plan will also use “population projections and geospatial analysis” to determine gaps and overlaps in services.

Officials noted a previous recreation amenities gap study conducted in 2010 informed the location of the Remington YMCA in Quarry Park, the Rocky Ridge YMCA, the Great Plains Recreation Facility and Seton YMCA, as well as the expansion of MNP due to a lack of amenities in the area.

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However, residents in Inglewood said their fight to keep the pool open isn’t over yet.

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“We can’t just let the city just keep doing what they want,” McKenzie said.

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