Blog Post By: Rachel Bollin-Communications Manager
Saturday, August 8, 2022
A new aquatic facility in the Temecula Valley can come to fruition with the support of residents. Temecula Valley Coalition for an Olympic Pool Facility has officially launched a petition to gather signatures from residents supporting a new aquatic facility. The petition can be found here: https://chng.it/HQFZv2zkcN
The coalition is asking residents to come together in support of the city moving forward with the proposed 50-Meter, Olympic size pool facility with a dive well. The coalition, which has the support of city council members and local businesses, launched the petition on Friday August 6th with a goal of gathering 50,000 signatures by September 30th.
Why was the coalition formed?
The coalition was formed when the parents of swimmers for the local swim team noticed overcrowding during practices at the community recreation center pool that is currently used for most practices. After further research we uncovered that a new swimming facility in Temecula with a 50 meter (Olympic Size Pool) had been in discussion with the city council for many years. Further research uncovered that a survey completed by the city council 10 years ago listed a new aquatic facility as a priority for residents. The residents stated that 1 pool for every 16,000 residents was desired. Today, the city offers just one pool facility for every 110,000 residents. With this information, the parents of TMEC Triton’s attended a city council meeting and sent letters asking that a new facility be taken into consideration. Parents also reached out to the local paper and put into motion a news article that was released in May 2022.
“We formed this coalition in response to our city’s dire need for a new aquatic facility. In recent years, our swim team membership has grown by 200% and we have outgrown the current city pool. The city council has been discussing the possibility of a new state of the art facility for the past 10 years and we would like to see these plans come to fruition,” said Alex Melendez, Coalition Member.
How does this facility benefit residents?
A new aquatic facility with a 50-meter pool and diving well will serve as an opportunity to grow both the local swim team and offer various water sports to the residents of Temecula. This would include water polo, diving, synchronized swimming, along with the ability to expand the swim team and swim instruction programs. The facility will also offer residents another location for summer swim programs such as recreational swim and lap swimming. The new facility will reduce overcrowding, enhance community programs, create water sports opportunities, increase success of local high school swim and water polo teams, and increase revenues into the city.
How would a new aquatic facility bring revenue into the city?
Swim meets, diving competitions, and water polo games, bring in competitors and their families from a wide demographic area. These teams travel monthly throughout the year for competitions. Swim clubs with USA Swimming approved facilities can host meets that bring in hundreds of competitors for a minimum of 2 days. The athletes and their families stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants. Cities such as Irvine, Riverside, and Mission Viejo have enjoyed the financial benefits of having aquatic centers with 50-meter pools. These facilities meet the requirements of USA swimming allowing them to host swim meets such as Junior Olympics, Summer and Winter Age Group Meets, and State Championships. These meets bring the host cities millions of dollars in sales taxes throughout the year. Large swim meets which last one week, are reported to bring host cities between 1-3 million dollars in revenue.
Why Temecula?
With the growth of the City of Temecula, it is fitting that this vibrant community would be able to offer an aquatic facility that would meet the needs of its residents and become a popular amenity and community resource.
What’s Next?
Sign the petition here https://chng.it/HQFZv2zkcN and follow our Facebook page to keep updated on our coalition’s progress. https://www.facebook.com/Temecula-Valley-Coalition-for-an-Olympic-Pool-Facility-111759814967640
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