Scrapping community pool for $30m leisure hub a 'retrograde step'

A proposal to scrap Otumoetai's pool in favour of a $30m multi-purpose 'leisure hub' at Memorial Park has been met with disbelief from a local principal.

On Monday Tauranga City Council heard a proposal from Bay Venues to scrap Tauranga's two oldest community pools - Otumoetai and Memorial - and replace them with a new multi-purpose recreation centre featuring indoor pools, courts and a fitness centre at Memorial Park.

In its submission, the council-controlled organisation said Otumoetai Pool (built 1968) and Memorial Pool (built 1955) were reaching the end of their useful lives and would be costly to maintain.

Bay Venues said there was demand for a bigger, multi-use recreation facility in the CBD thanks to Tauranga's growing population, increasing visitor numbers, city centre intensification and the new tertiary campus - which had no recreation centre.

They asked the council for $150,000 next financial year for a detailed feasibility study on the leisure hub idea.

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Bay Venues also asked the council to set aside provisional funding of $30m, dependant on the study outcome, to design and build the leisure hub in four or five years.

Councillors agreed to put the funding into the draft Long Term Plan for 2018/28, which will go out for public consultation early next year.

Mayor Greg Brownless said he looked forward to the community having their say on Bay Venues' proposals.

He said he hoped people realised the projects would increase opportunities for the council to make money off its sports and recreation assets.

"We're doing things to raise revenue to make it cheaper for our citizens to play sports."

On hearing the proposal, Otumoetai College principal Dave Randall said: "You've got to be bloody joking".

He said scrapping Otumoetai Pool would have a "major impact" on the nearby schools that used it.

"What a retrograde step."

Pools were like parks to his mind and should be there for the community without needing to generate revenue.

He said his school used the pool 37 out of the 39 weeks a year the school was open - for physical education classes, lifesaving, canoe polo, swimming sports and underwater hockey.

Having to bus students to Memorial Park would severely limit the school's ability to make swimming part of PE classes especially.

Brookfield School acting principal Carol Burborough said they used the Otumoetai Pool for swimming sports and it was very convenient.

Bussing to Memorial Park would add time and cost, but a new facility might be exciting.

Otumoetai Swimming Club president Graeme Blissett was concerned for the hundreds of kids who came to learn to swim classes at the pool.

Many were not from well-off families and might not be able to afford the extra cost of getting to Memorial Park.

He said Tauranga desperately needed a 50m pool, and hoped one would be part of any new facility.

"It would be a shame if Otumoetai pool has to get scrapped to make way for that."

A mock-up of how Bay Venue's proposed $30m recreation centre and leisure hub at Memorial park could be laid out. Image supplied/Tauranga City Council

CBD recreation and leisure hub

Bay Venues wants to build a $30m multi-use sport, recreation and leisure facility potentially including:

- indoor aquatic centre
- indoor courts
- fitness centre
- community centre
- retail
- function/meeting centre
- tourist attraction such as hot pools, spas or Maori cultural attractions.

Other significant projects

Bay Venues also sought funding for:

- A new $4.9m exhibition centre at ASB Baypark
- $1.3m for a Baywave expansion to add more fun activities, seating and changing areas
- Improving Greerton Aquatic and Leisure Centre ($879,000)
- Deck conversion at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance ($125,000)