NEWSMAKERS 2023: King residents get new rec centre, lose Nobleton pool

$86M facility pegged for 2024 completion

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 9, 2024
Simone Joseph

In 2023, construction of the township-wide recreation centre and the closure of the Nobleton Lions Outdoor Pool were major news in King.

Major headway was made this year on the $86-million centre being built on 25 acres of land on Seneca's King Campus site located at Dufferin Street and 15th Sideroad.

Once completed, the fully accessible recreation complex will include a six-lane, 25-metre-long lap pool and two NHL-sized ice surfaces among other features. It will offer recreational swimming and lessons.

The major project is expected to be finished in 2024.

Meanwhile, multiple issues including staffing shortages and equipment problems led to the permanent closure of the aging Nobleton Lions Outdoor Pool this past year.

The physical condition of the pool and the continued national labour shortage heavily impacted the township’s ability to reopen the pool, the township's director of community services, Chris Fasciano, said at the time.

While residents who had registered for township programs were offered alternatives in nearby communities, as well as compensation for any price differences, many were left feeling in the lurch on the heels of the pool's closure.

Lisa Galati was among roughly 200 residents signed up for swim programs impacted by the closure.

Galati's son, Joshua, 16, had to travel to Vaughan to complete his lifeguard certification. Her 13-year-old daughter completed her bronze medallion and cross this past summer in the family's backyard pool since there was nowhere close by to take the courses (Galati had to bring in an instructor to teach and certify her).

“They gave us zero options,” she said at the time, saying the township handled the closure poorly and offered residents few options. “It’s basically, it is closed, and wait 'till next year.”

It wasn't all bad news for some, however, like 16-year-olds Jackson and Isabel Kelly, who used the pool closure as a catalyst to open a swim school in their backyard pool in Laskay.

They were among many entrepreneurs who received a steady stream of bookings for their newly opened backyard swim schools.