Palm Beach Aquatic and Community Centre open on the Gold Coast
A $87 million aquatic centre featuring four new pools and a cafe has officially opened on the southern Gold Coast.
Gold Coast
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An $87 million aquatic centre featuring four new pools and a cafe has officially opened on the southern Gold Coast.
On Monday, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate unveiled the transformed Palm Beach Aquatic Centre after more than two years of renovations.
“This is an exciting day for thousands of southern Gold Coasters who have been eagerly awaiting the opening of one of the city’s best integrated aquatic, fitness and community centre facilities,” he said.
Mr Tate said the new centre which features a heated indoor learn to swim pool, indoor warm water pool, 25-metre outdoor pool, 50-metre outdoor pool, fitness centre, community centre, a cafe, a creche and basement parking was expected to see around 600,000 visitors in its first year.
“The Palm Beach Aquatic and Community Centre is the southern Gold Coast’s single largest community infrastructure project for the City which will service the growing community for the next 50 years,” he said.
“The centre has something for everyone, from swimming laps and taking part in aquatic programs, working out at the gym, joining a community activity or catching up with friends at the new cafe.”
On Monday, Mr Tate did a walk-through tour of the new facility, testing the pool water temperatures, ballet bars and even the bench press machine.
“It’s one of the best benches. It matches some of the best benches in the world,” he said.
“I say, ‘if the bench is right, everything else is right’.”
Mr Tate said the facility would add to the city’s sports economy and make it “not only the best place to live, but one of the healthiest”.
Division 14 councillor Gail O’Neill, Division 13 councillor Josh Martin and former area councillor Daphne McDonald joined Mr Tate for the opening.
Ms O’Neill and Ms McDonald said they were was pleased to see the project come to life after years of fighting for it.
“This journey started in 1977 when the pool was first built,” Ms McDonald said.
“Walking around her today, it’s great to see it is finished.”
“My kids learnt to swim here,” Ms O’Neill said.
“They are in their 30s now and I’ll see my grandchildren learn to swim here as well.”
The highly anticipated project was delayed several months and suffered a cost blowout, with the original price for the project of $54m increasing to more than $87m.
“Unforeseen delays were experienced during construction to circumstances out of our control such as weather conditions, labour and supply shortages,” a council spokesperson said.
Mr Tate said he hoped people concerned about the budget blowout would “look at the life cycle of the project”.
“As a builder and civil engineer looking at this project, it could have been a lot worse.”
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