New Indoor Aquatics Facility

The new indoor aquatic facility and geothermal heating facility are moving forward. The funding applications for both the Indoor Aquatic Facility and the geothermal heating facility were approved and announced on March 7, 2024.

The new facility will be located on the Sportplex site to the east of the Fieldhouse/Lawson Aquatic Centre, in a portion of the Taylor Field Lands. The Lawson and Fieldhouse will continue to operate until the new facility is open.

The Taylor Field Lands is made up of several pieces of the former Mosaic Stadium vacant land, the Sportplex site which includes the current Fieldhouse/Lawson Aquatic Centre and new location of the Indoor Aquatic Facility, as well as the vacant parking lots adjacent.

The next step is to continue working with the design team on design activities.

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Background

A new indoor aquatics facility was prioritized in the City’s Recreation Master Plan and in July 2022, the feasibility study for the pool was presented to Executive Committee of Council. The feasibility study included community research and consultation. The project is also supported by a Community Advisory Committee.

The facility will be heated by geothermal energy.

The vision for the new facility is an accessible, inclusive and sustainable community destination that serves Regina residents and visitors for generations to come.

The next step is to continue working with the design team on design activities.

Enter your email at the top of the page and hit subscribe to stay informed on project updates.

Background

The facility will be heated by geothermal energy.

The vision for the new facility is an accessible, inclusive and sustainable community destination that serves Regina residents and visitors for generations to come.

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

Thank you for your questions about the new Indoor Aquatics Facility. This Q&A tool is now closed to further engagement.

Please visit Regina.ca/IAF to learn more about this project.

Another $40 Million added to the budget from already-allocated City of Regina funds. Taking $40 Million from other City projects where the City of Regina residents were painstakingly surveyed, the previous City Council spent countless hours developing and planning for these funds, and the hopeful entities who will be receiving them is going to devastate these other City entities/projects. I would suggest the City goes back to the Province and the Feds for this additional funding and to leave all allocated funds where they were originally planned for. What a waste of precious time and money that we've already incurred planning and structuring the City budget, just to remove $40 Million and add it to an already exorbitant Aquatic Centre budget!

VanderhooftL asked 4 months ago
The 2019 Recreation Master Plan identified a need for a new indoor aquatics facility (IAF). Demand for both competitive and recreational pool time outpaces the current capacity of the three current indoor pools, which average about 450,000 total visits per year. The last indoor pool to open in Regina was the Sandra Schmirler Leisure Centre in 1990. After 35 years, the IAF is a significant once-in-a-generation infrastructure project to support public recreation for Regina’s growing population. The budget for the IAF is $285.1 million, with an additional $28.5 million for the geothermal heating facility. In total, the budget for the IAF is $313.6 million. The funding breakdown is as follows:
- Aquatics Facility $285.1 million
  Federal government: $43.2 million
  Provincial government: $36 million
  City of Regina: $205.9 million
- Geothermal Heating Plant $28.5 million
  Federal and provincial Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program grant: $14.7 million
  City of Regina: $13.8 million
The City will continue to look for alternative and additional revenue options to be able to provide the IAF and other recreation amenities to Regina residents. There are no projects that have been removed from the priority list of recreation amenities, and Administration will advocate for funding for them where possible.
Will the new pool be accessible to those in wheelchairs that require lifts to enter and exit the pool? The only indoor pool right now that offers them is the Sandra Schmirler leisure center in the east end, which is typically fairly busy and not the biggest pool. The other option is the Wascana Outdoor Pool which is only open half of the year. The photos included of what the new pool will look like has a person in a wheelchair in the pool, but no pictures of lifts. Not to mention, the Sandra Schmirler leisure center's lift is broken half of the time. I truly hope you guys will have a lift so the pool is truly accessible to everybody considering how much money is being spent. Everyone deserves the ability to swim and get excercise and only having one running indoor pool with a lift is just not enough. FYI, I am not talking about a chair that lowers in the water as not everyone is able to safely use that. I am talking about an electric lift that atttaches to a lift sheet and lowers and lifts individuals into and out of the water. Please please please consider this in your huge budget. thanks.

hailey asked about 1 month ago

Yes, the design of the new Indoor Aquatics Facility will include accessibility features to be an inclusive space. The current leisure pool design features include ramps into pools, lifts onsite, an elevator to the waterslide platform, a waterslide with amenities (raft), accessibility features at the start and end of the waterslide and accessible widths of bulkheads and ramps. There are additional accessibility features incorporated into the rest of the building design. City Administration gathered input from accessibility groups and residents during the planning phase of this project. Expanding accessibility options and programming is a priority for recreation in Regina.
What will happen to the Fieldhouse? Is there a potential to utilize this facility for sports teams/leagues that are in need of a facility to play in year round?

JamesM asked 4 months ago

The Fieldhouse will remain open and be incorporated into the new facility with renovations. The new Indoor Aquatic Facility will be located on the east side of the current Sportplex site and will connect to the Fieldhouse, creating a new central entry point. This new central entry will be next to a new outdoor space and parking area, making it more inclusive and welcoming.
What will the fitness area look like? Right now, because it is part of the main gym, it's often closed for events which is tough for people who try to go every day. Will there be quarter-back lockers like the fieldhouse has now? Will there be additional weightlifting racks? Two is way too few.

BS asked 6 months ago

Designs for the dryland training spaces are still being finalized. The Fieldhouse will also remain open and be incorporated into the design of the new building, with additional renovations to accommodate the fitness space currently within the Lawson.
will it include an olympic size pool and will there be high dive equipment?

ann asked about 1 year ago

Yes, the Indoor Aquatics Facility will feature two 50-metre pools with the capacity to host national competitions as well as dive towers. The diving boards include 1-metre and 3-metre spring boards as well as 3-metre, 5-metre, 7.5-metre and 10-metre diving platforms. You can read about the features and view design renderings online at Regina.ca/IAF.
when will the design plans be ready for me to look at?

ann asked about 1 year ago

Special features for the new facility will include waterslides, a wave pool, a lazy river, two 50-metre pools, dive towers, dryland training spaces, community spaces, food services and an outdoor play structure and spray pad. You can find the conceptual design renderings showing some of these features online at Regina.ca/IAF. These are concepts showing features and may not represent the final design.
Will there be an auditorium to host arts and culture events such as Ukrainian dance festival, cheer competitions, band concerts, all other types of dance performances and competitions? Regina has no venue for this unless we keep using the RPAC which is a dump with no parking (this is what people who attend our dance festival see and there’s people from all over Canada attending). It’s embarrassing and the city should be ashamed that there’s no place in this city for anything that I listed above. North Battleford has a beautiful establishment as well as yorkton, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Brandon mb. Lloydminister ab, everywhere but Regina. How humiliating!!!!

Blanka asked over 1 year ago

This facility is being designed to fill a gap and support competitive aquatics and personal fitness, while also providing leisure aquatics opportunities that are missing from Regina’s other public pools. The priority for a new aquatic facility was identified through the Recreation Master Plan in 2019. There will be some smaller community multipurpose rooms included in the facility, but there is no auditorium space in this design. The City also has a separate Culture Master Plan, which guides a vision for the arts community and can be found here: https://www.regina.ca/parks-recreation-culture/arts-culture/reginas-culture
What will happen to the old aquatic centre? Will the field house remain in the present site? Thank you.

Frances asked over 1 year ago

The Lawson is a 50-year-old building that doesn’t meet all of our community’s needs and is nearing the end of its lifespan. The Lawson will be decommissioned after a new facility is built because there would be additional costs to upgrade it to extend its life. The Fieldhouse is anticipated to have upwards of 25 years of useful life remaining and will be incorporated into the design of the new building. The existing facilities will both remain open to the public as much as possible during construction to ensure programming continues with minimal interruption to users.
Are they planning to make the waterside accessible for people in wheelchairs? (Including a lift up?) Are they planning on having a lift into the pool?

Jb asked over 1 year ago

The features will be determined through the design process currently underway; however there has been a commitment to explore a high accessible waterslide. The design of each pool will consider an accessible way to enter such as a zero-depth entry, ramp and/or lift.
How many waterslides are there?

Michael Sliva asked over 1 year ago

The leisure amenities, including the number and type of waterslides, will be determined through the design process, which is currently underway.