Local pool opens Saturday

While the day had just started, the air was already warm, and workers shuffled about, preparing Bryan Park Pool for its summer season opening.

Bryan Park Pool, which is located south of campus on Woodlawn Avenue, will open on May 25 and run through September 2. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

“We’ve got 60 seasonal staff members,” said Rob Gilchrist, Bloomington Parks and Recreation aquatics coordinator. “We work hard to keep these aging facilities working. This pool was built in 1956. You can’t find a facility older in the state.”

With large colorful umbrellas and rows of white plastic reclining chairs, the pool is a summer staple of Bloomington. Besides the main pool, the facility features three waterslides and Limestone Lagoon, an activity pool for young children. The facility is popular among Bloomington residents, with many families and groups using it to relax during the hot days.

“I expect around 60-to-65,000 visits for the entire summer,” Gilchrist said. “The maximum occupancy is 1,600, but fortunately we’ve never approached that. A camp might bring in a hundred people, but only for a few hours.”

The pool often welcomes many events and programs including swim lessons, aqua fitness for adults and rent for private parties in the evenings.

“We host many youth camps, from the YMCA, MCCSC, and even some from IU,” Gilchrist said. “We serve families and youth; we’re a family-centered facility.”

Gilchrist notes that while the pool is partially subsidized by the government, it has a cost recovery rate of 95 percent, meaning admissions to the pool cover the vast majority of its operating costs.

“Taxpayers aren’t footing the entire bill,” he said.

Admission to the pool is $3 daily, $2.50 for kids under 18, with an additional charge of $2.50 for the waterslides.

“The additional cost helps us fund the slides and regulate users appropriately and safely,” Gilchrist said.

Users can also purchase cost-saving punch passes for bulk deals. The 100-punch pass costs $160 and can also be used at the city-run Mills pool on the north side of town. In contrast, a summer pass to the IU Outdoor Pool costs only $66 for a student and $121 for a member of the public. While this is much less than Bryan Park Pool’s rates, Gilchrist said he isn’t worried because the two don’t really compete.

“Bloomington doesn’t have enough pools for its population,” he said. “Plus, IU attracts a different population from a different region of town, a lot of lap swimmers and college students. We have things they don’t have, like slides and the activity pool.”

As workers hurriedly move around the pool, Gilchrist expressed his anticipation of
its opening.

“Attendance is very dependent on the weather,” Gilchrist said. “This weekend could be huge, or it could be tiny.”

However, he remains firm in his belief that the pool is an essential part of a Bloomington summer.

“It’s a nice, laid back, family environment,” he said. “Summer people want to go cool off. There’s no better place than a pool.”