Pan Am Pool closing in January, major repairs expected to take 16 months

The Pan Am Pool will close to the public for more than a year to allow for major repairs, beginning next January, which could force some athletes to travel for training.

A city document seeks a contractor to renew the two-storey, 163,000-square-foot structure at 25 Poseidon Bay, repairing the pool’s main tank, diving towers and deck area, as well as a waterproof membrane and tiles.

“The Pan Am Pool area will be closed to the general public for the duration of the project,” the document states.

The city plans to close the pool on Jan. 18 and reopen it about 16 months later.

“That’s going to significantly impact some of the national-level competitive divers. This is the only 10-metre (diving) tower in Manitoba. The (next) closest 10-metre tower is in Regina,” said Ken Stevens, executive director of Dive Manitoba.

Stevens said his organization will seek out additional training options in Regina, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay during the extended closure, noting that would require divers and their families to travel to those cities.

“It’s going to be time away from school, time away from work. It’s going to be a challenge, financially, for everyone,” he said.

However, Stevens stressed Pan Am needs the repairs to ensure it can continue operating.

“It’s actually… exciting to know that the work they’re going to be putting in the Pan Am Pool to keep the legacy building… is going to position diving in an extremely strong position once that pool reopens. I see a bright light at the end of the tunnel for diving,” he said.

The facility, which was originally built for the 1967 Pan American Games, has received previous upgrades, including a lap pool added in 2004 and a multipurpose addition in the late ’90s.

The city document describes the complex as Winnipeg’s “premier” and most used civic aquatic facility, hosting diving, swimming, artistic swimming and water polo events.

The facility’s smaller east pool, locker rooms and east dryland training area will remain open during construction but access will be limited to “select user groups.”

Stevens said dryland training is key to the sport, so that exception is important. While the city initially planned to close the entire facility, the plan changed following consultations, he said.

“I see a bright light at the end of the tunnel for diving.”

However, a swim club leader is concerned that the Pan Am closure will lead many groups to compete for limited space at the smaller training pool.

“It will have a major effect on training.… We’re already working around the St. James Civic Centre (pool) closure, so we’ve been able to kind of puzzle-piece our way into being at Pan Am every day just to continue to operate,” said Josh Koldon, head coach of the St. James Seals Swim Club.

Koldon said it’s frustrating to cope with closures at multiple city pools, which limits options for both high-performing athletes and those just beginning to train.

“We haven’t seen pool closures like this since the pandemic, when so many pools closed and we lost so much lane space, that we had to take out almost the whole bottom and middle level of swimmers to protect the swimmers that were high-performing and were going to national-level competitions, to keep them in the water,” he said.

The club now splits its time between Winnipeg’s Pan Am and St. James Assiniboia Centennial pools.

Koldon noted the Joyce Fromson Pool, owned by the University of Manitoba, also closed in 2025, making space even more scarce.

Coun. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of community services, said city officials are working to ensure the Seven Oaks and St. James pools, which are now closed for repairs, reopen before Pan Am closes.

“I am working hard with the department to ensure that the transition between all the different pools… is seamless,” said Santos (Point Douglas.)

St. James is slated to reopen in November, with Seven Oaks expected to follow in January, she noted.

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The councillor said she sympathizes with people affected by the disruption but stressed the Pan Am repairs are needed.

“Pan Am pool is (almost 60) years old and it requires some TLC. We are asking (for) patience from swimmers,” she said, adding the city originally planned to close Pan Am pool in January 2026 but delayed the construction to reduce the number of pools closed at the same time.

The city budgeted $4.7 million for the pool repairs, which rises to $6 million, when design, procurement, contingencies and other costs are included.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.