When Yellowknife started building its new aquatic centre, the expected opening date was the fall of 2024. Since we’re in December, let’s do a quick update.
As you may have noticed, the new aquatic centre isn’t open yet.
In a Q&A on its website, the City of Yellowknife says last year’s wildfire-related evacuation is a primary reason for the delay.
So when can you expect to get in there?
Last week, Mayor of Yellowknife Rebecca Alty used social media to post a video clip from inside the building.
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“Still on budget but a little delayed in opening due to the 2023 evacuation,” Alty wrote. “Spring 2025 is the new anticipated opening date.”
A work plan drawn up by the city in the spring of 2024 listed February 2025 as the centre’s planned opening date, but that date appears to have since drifted slightly.
In a brief email to Cabin Radio on Tuesday, a city spokesperson said: “The City of Yellowknife anticipates that the new aquatic centre will open early into the second quarter of 2025.”
When Yellowknifers voted in favour of building the pool in 2021, it had been expected to open in September 2024.
City Hall has previously said the $70 million or so to build the centre shouldn’t shift much due to the nature of its contract with the company carrying out the work. However, the operating costs of the new pool will mean new staff and more money annually.
During budget discussions last week, city manager Stephen Van Dine said he believed “the number of swim lessons and other activities that we will be able to offer with this aquatic centre more than doubles” the current offering at the existing Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, which the centre is designed to replace.
