Axed games, aquatic ambitions: How Geelong’s pool projects have made waves in the past decade
Three tiers of government, funding stoushes, location battles and duelling promises, a city leader says the axing of the Commonwealth Games could be a chance to evaluate just what Geelong needs.
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The vow that Geelong will still get the infrastructure promised for the now axed Commonwealth Games has put the spotlight firmly on the messy and complicated political football of swimming pools. With three tiers of government, multiple projects – both existing and planned – ageing infrastructure and fights over location, scale and cost, the debate over public pools is hardly going swimmingly.
So what do we actually need and where and how should our Games cash be best spent for the benefit of all? Alexander Blain dives in.
Money earmarked for an Armstrong Creek pool would be better spent on revitalising Kardinia Aquatic Centre following the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games, city leaders say.
The state government, which vowed it would still deliver infrastructure planned for the axed 2026 Games, has proposed an aquatic centre for Armstrong Creek with an indoor swimming pool and sports courts.
But the City of Greater Geelong told the state its preference was for the money to be spent on upgrading the existing Kardinia pool, which sits beside GMHBA Stadium in central Geelong.
Acting council chief executive Kaarina Phyland said its strategic planning indicated improving ageing facilities at Kardinia Park “were a higher priority for investment than a new aquatics facility at Armstrong Creek, due to the Leisurelink facility being within minutes of Armstrong Creek”.
Speaking to the Geelong Advertiser after the cancellation of the Games, Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan also said the Armstrong Creek facility was not the city’s preference, despite the growth of the area.
“It’s not where you’d pick, strategically, to put a pool,” Mr Sullivan said.
The council has, however, “welcomed” support from the state government to grow Geelong’s infrastructure.
Committee for Geelong chief executive Michael Johnston said the axing of the Games presented a unique opportunity to re-evaluate the region’s needs and that prioritising projects was crucial.
“There is no question that Geelong has benefited from government investment in aquatic centres, at both state and federal level,” he said.
“What people want to see is the prioritisation of infrastructure most needed.
“There is a question as to whether the right facilities have been delivered in the right locations.
“Local government picks up the maintenance and operating costs, so it is critical new facilities don’t come at the expense of services at existing ones.”
Swimming pools have been at the centre of controversy across the region for years, with duelling election promises, fights across the political aisle and disputes across three tiers of government over location, cost and scale.
The Armstrong Creek proposal is the latest of five major pool projects under way in the region, representing almost $250m in funding across three levels of government.
None of the pools being built are suitable for elite competition and only one – at Drysdale – includes a 50m pool.
That project, the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre, was caught in the middle of a heated battle between Labor and the Coalition with competing vows on its makeup and rollout.
The cost of operating the new Drysdale facility year round was estimated to be $740,000 annually when it was approved in 2021.
The Surf Coast Aquatic and Health Centre in Torquay, promised by the Morrison government, has also been the source of controversy, with serious concerns over whether or not the shire, which is also redeveloping the council pool at Winchelsea, can afford it.
From an initial budget of $38.5m, the project is now expected to cost $46.8m and has left the council racing to find funds to cover the shortfall.
The budget hole has been reduced to $1.34m, with the shire pulling more than $2m from other projects in 2023 to cover the cost.
However, the project was originally planned to feature a 50m indoor pool.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson threatened to pull federal funding from the project if it was downsized, asserting that a 50m pool was a “condition” of the deal.
The project has, however, has been scaled back and changed several times.
In 2020, under the shadow of losing federal funding, a Surf Coast councillor flagged the possibility of working with Geelong council on a joint facility to cater to Torquay and Armstrong Creek.
Then-mayor Stephanie Asher kiboshed the idea, citing Liesurelink’s proximity and the city’s prioritisation of building the Drysdale pool.
In February this year, Surf Coast Shire again altered the scope of the centre, after a report stated demand for a pool at Torquay would lose about one in five potential users within a 10-minute drive with an Armstrong Creek pool.
In Norlane, the Northern Aquatic and Community Hub, proposed in 2013 and formally announced in 2017, will replace Waterworld when it opens next year.
Unlike other aquatic centres in the region, the project struggled to attract funding from state and federal goverments, with Geelong council forced to fund more than $44m of the $61.6m project itself.
In 2022, Leisurelink in Waurn Ponds also underwent a $4.7m upgrade to replace its 50m pool with a tiled one.
The state government’s choice of Armstrong Creek as the site for the new pool comes as the area rapidly expands with its population expected to eventually reach 65,000.
It is understood Geelong council’s 2014 Town Centre Precinct Structure Plan played a key role in the state’s decision.
Glenn Benson, president of the Geelong Swim Club, said more pools was a great thing for the region.
“(People in Geelong) have been starved of pools for so long, people don’t even realise how much it’s restricted,” he said.
“It’s a bit like Field of Dreams, if you build it, they’ll come … the Surf Coast is an outdoor recreational mecca, and we only have one location with a 50m pool. That’s ridiculous.”
Mr Benson highlighted the development of the Surf Coast pool and the 50m pool at Drysdale as being particularly significant.
“To have a decent pool at Drysdale, another decent pool at Torquay and then the fantastic facility at Leisurelink; it’s gonna do wonders for the area,” he said.
“What’s important is the 15,000 people in Torquay will then be able to use that pool, and what that’ll enable the pressure to be taken off Leisurelink.
Mr Benson said more pools spread across the region would be a positive and serve as a “gateway” to the region
“We’ll have an opportunity to teach more kids how to swim in different areas; parents are very busy nowadays, they don’t want to drive a long way to learn to swim … proximity is really important,” he said.
However, a balance needed to be found.
“Recreational swimmers, they want a 50m outdoor pool; learn to swimmers and older people for rehabilitation, they prefer an indoor pool,” he said.
The question remains on how the different pools will impact the region’s economy, given the budget worries.
What exactly unfolds from here is not clear. Full costing for the Armstrong Creek facility is not yet available and project is set to undergo a community consultation period, which the state had promised.
The waters remain muddy but with a rapidly expanding city, millions of dollars on the line and budget pressures across the board, getting it right will absolutely crucial.
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Originally published as Axed games, aquatic ambitions: How Geelong’s pool projects have made waves in the past decade
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