Mikaere said the estimated total cost of the 50m pool renovation – which included equipment, investigative work and design, as well as construction – was approximately $3.1m.
"The upcoming improvements are just the start of the journey to create a facility that our community will be proud of," Mikaere said.
"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."
The council said today the work was a key component of the 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 aquatic activities.
The upgrades will improve the experience for locals using the pool and bolster the centre's offerings as a high-quality training and competition facility.
The renovations will take about 20 weeks and pool users will need to use the indoor facilities during this time. The outdoor pool is planned to be available for pool users again early in 2021.
The aquatic centre's management company, CLM, was working with clubs and others with regular bookings to accommodate each group as much as possible.
Swimming Bay of Plenty's chairwoman, Bronwen Radford, said their organisation was looking forward to seeing the renovated pool.
"We are incredibly excited to see the redevelopment of the 50m aquatic centre pool. Rotorua is well-known amongst 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," Radford said.
The upgrade is part of the $7.5 million in funding the council set aside in the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan to redevelop the aquatic centre.
The Rotorua Daily Post has requested further information on who won the tender and the cost of the renovation.
The upgrade work includes:
• Renovating the pool structure to increase the depth to 1.4m to meet International Swimming Federation depth standards.
• Adding extra length to accommodate a bulkhead which can be shifted to create two 25m pools.
• A new filtration system.
• A PoolPod accessibility lift.
• A new decking pool surround.
Aquatic Centre key facts:
• For the past 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.
