logo

USE CODE “US04”

Need to renovate or build a community pool? STOP!!! And consider this information.

If you are in need to renovate or build a community pool, consider this important information.  Before planning to invest tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new aquatic facility or a newly renovated aquatic facility….carefully consider what attracts “water goers” to aquatic facilities.

Yes, we know that local swim teams have a loud voice that wants to be heard for that new or newly renovated swimming pool your planning… and yes, even the elderly wants to have its time to be able to enjoy some lap swimming.  But if your goal is to ATTRACT and GENERATE revenue so that your investment dollars pay for themselves, you must take a step back and get a clear vision to how to get a return on your aquatic investment.

Do yourself and your community a favor. STOP THE INSANITY of a traditional swimming pool and be wise to the way of the aquatic world.  It just might do YOU and YOUR COMMUNITY some good!

Sorry lap swimmers and swim team organizers, but the “traditional” swimming pool as we all have known it is a dying breed. Besides the local community swim team using the traditional swimming pools one and a half months (for seasonal pools) out of the year or for year round facilities swim teams may use them 3-4 months out of the year, there is not much else to offer the new generation of water goers. Traditional swimming pool have become viewed as an ancient dinosaur that is outdated and expensive to maintain and keep operationally.  By in large that is why so many aquatic facilities have been forced to close there doors.  In addition to the expense of a traditional swimming pool is the fact that there is little to gain for attracting people to come and enjoy a day of swimming.  Fun in the sun is no longer just splashing around in an over sized bathtub.

These traditional swimming pools were a big boom in the mid to late 1900 for people to cool off and organize lap swimming and swim teams.  This trend has kept pace throughout the last part of the 1990’s. However, since the turn of the century water goers have realized that traditional swimming pools are not that exciting for young swimmers now a days.  With peoples entertainment dollars being stretched to its limits, aquatic facilities have found themselves behind the eight ball.  Young people enjoy “interactive water features” such as “zero depth” entry pools (also known as beach entry pools), water features with water spraying devices, splash pads, water play grounds or fun pools, water slides, water flumes, lazy rivers and waterfalls to name just s few of the examples for having fun in the sun. This day and age of wading in a swimming pool that typical 75 x 40 Jr Olympic pool that has no diving and no deep ends is a thing of the past.  Aquatic personal that are ahead of the curve are planning and design to build pools that accommodate both parties (lap swimmers and water goers).  It is the best way to try to accommodate all parties involved and maximize the entertainment dollar.

Need to renovate or build a community pool
Lap Pool with Zero Depth Beach Entry

Updating Your Aquatic Facility?

Are you considering updating your Aquatic Facility?  How can you differentiate your old “out dated” pool from the shiny new water park that was built a couple of miles away?  Think about offering community events at your facility?  A family movie night at the pool, a community picnic with a theme are a couple of examples that will help draw interest to your pool.  Think outside the box when looking for ideas.  No, scratch that, there is no box.  Be creative and involve everyone within your staff to come up with ideas.  Generally aquatic staff are younger and can have great insight into what will draw the younger crowd as well as what it keeping them away.

Gone are the days where a basic lap pool is enough to generate the needed revenue to support the cost to operate an aquatic facility or community pool.

It is essential that each facility takes into consideration what their patrons are looking for. What are the current members looking for from your facility? What age groups do you want to target for new memberships? Do you want to make your facility more family oriented, or is there another demographic you are looking to attract?

These are all important questions that you have to ask in search of what will work for your facility. Water features provide a way for you to bring your facility back to life and generate needed additional revenue. First you must review your existing features such as diving boards and slides to evaluate their current usefulness as well as safety concerns. There are a great deal of options that can make your facility more appealing to existing member’s while attracting new membership.

Here are some considerations when looking to add water features to your existing facility.

  • Do you have the available space for your water feature?
  • What footprint will the feature take up?
  • Can your feature be updated to keep it challenging?
  • Cost is certainly a concern but you must consider the return on investment.
  • When should you add the feature to make the biggest impact
  • How are you going to get the word out about your new feature?

We are always talking to our clients about what they are doing to increase the buzz at their facilities. Adding new programs and features seem to be the constant mantra from all of them.

What are you going to do differently to ensure success at your aquatic facility?  Isn’t it time that you think about what you can do to make your facility success?  We would love your feedback on what has worked for you and what has not.