Sudbury diving into aquatics plans after infrastructure review

The City of Greater Sudbury is diving into development for a couple of future plans involving pools and other aquatic services across the city.

During Tuesday night’s council meeting, a consultant provided councillors with a review of the city’s indoor pools, beaches and splash pads, as part of the aquatics facilities review.

An image of the Jeno Tihanyi Olympic pool prior to its closure in 2020. (Supplied/Laurentian University)

One of the approved plans is to work with Laurentian University to re-open the post-secondary school’s Jeno Tihanyi Pool.

It’s the only 50-metre pool in northeastern Ontario and has been closed since 2020 -- first due to the pandemic and then for maintenance issues.

Sudbury city council also approved a feasibility study for the development of a new aquatic centre proposed to open next year.

That centre would include a 25-metre pool with a therapeutic area including a separate warm water tank to be located near the proposed Lionel E. Lalonde Centre project.

The therapeutic pool has been a proposed project on the books in Azilda for the past decade.

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"The report also identifies that warm water and a large aquatic centre is a good purchase," Pauline Fortin told her fellow councillors, after putting the motion forward.

Money for the feasibility study would come from capital funding previously allocated to the therapeutic pool project.

"I also want to mention that Azilda pretty much is the central part of the city," Fortin added.

"You could drive 15 -20 minutes in every direction to get to the outer edge of the city. So, it is a great location."

The plans align with the recommendations from the aquatics review which calls for a 25-metre pool for Greater Sudbury.

Read the full Aquatic Service and Facility Review Final Report