When it opened in 1973, the Canada Games Pool in New Westminster was considered a state-of-the-art facility capable of fostering world class swimmers and hosting world class competitions.

But 45 years later, members of the resident Hyack Swim Club feel that their stake in the facility is being ignored as the city works toward replacing the aging pool.

"In the last three months it's become very obvious that the Hyack's position has not been sufficient to sway city council from going to a very heavy recreational facility," said Paul McNamara, whose 12-year-old daughter swims with the team.

The Hyack Swim Club in New Westminster has capped membership at 400 because of a space crunch. (Paul McNamara)

The working design for the Canada Games replacement emphasizes warm water leisure activities and potentially includes amenities like a wading pool, lazy river and slides.

Same old 8 lanes, 50 metres

But the plan doesn't call for any upgrades to the eight-lane, 50-metre long pool where lap swimming takes place, something that McNamara feels is short-sighted.

"Canada Games Pool was built in 1973 for a population of 35,000. We now have 75,000 people in New West. If we go with the design they're talking about, we'll have the same 50-metre, eight-lane pool in 2041 for a population of 105,000."

The Hyacks would like to see the new tank expanded to 10 lanes with enough deck space to host competitions beyond the local level.

Space crunch

McNamara believes a bigger pool would pay for itself through additional rental income. It would also allow the Hyacks to quadruple membership which is currently capped at 400 (with a long wait list) because of the space crunch.

The price tag for the new facility is estimated at $100 million. Mayor Jonathan Cote says the problem is the city doesn't have the extra $10 to $15 million it will cost to build a bigger pool.

When it opened in 1973, the Canada Games Pool in New Westminster was considered a world class training and competition facility. (Paul McNamara)

"If we were able to get strong federal support for this project then the city would be more than open to really build a more regional pool to serve a broader competitive component."

"But we also have to be mindful that we are one of the smaller municipalities in Metro Vancouver and we can't necessarily afford all the aspirations here unless we are able to get support."

A regional focus is exactly what the provincial organization that oversees the 12,000 competitive swimmers in the province would like New Westminster to consider.

Sport tourism void

Ken Radford, Swim B.C. executive director, believes there is a significant opportunity for a new Canada Games Pool to fill a void because there is currently not a single pool capable of hosting anything beyond a local or low-level provincial meet in Metro Vancouver.

"The economic impact of competition is profound," said Radford. "If they were to vision that, they could end up hosting a tremendous number of competitions. At a low end of the scale, something like a Western Canadian championship draws $3 million in spin off economic activity."

March to city hall

McNamara plans to take his case to city officials this week, and is organizing a Hyack swimmers march from Canada Games Pool to city hall on May 28.

"One of our signs says, 'For $100 million I should be able to race at Canada Games Pool," he said.

"Swimming is one of the fasted growing sports in the country because not everyone wants to play hockey or soccer or basketball. I just think a better designed and thought out pool in New Westminster could be the example."

Construction on the Canada Games Pool replacement is expected to begin in 2020.