City Venue Management take on operations contract at Townsville’s Northern Beaches Leisure Centre

Following a public tender, Townsville City Council has awarded the contract to manage its Northern Beaches Leisure Centre to City Venue Management (CVM) - commencing as of 1st March.

In taking on the contract, CVM will replace current facility operator and Queensland Olympian Jon Sieben from JMS Aquatics who has run the facility for the last 16 years.

JMS Aquatics lease ended on 31st January, with the site undergoing a tender process since November.

With CVM securing the lease, JMS Aquatics wrote to participants in the swim school and squad programs last week advising “we are very proud of our Top 10 Learn to Swim Program, as this year, we produced our first swimmer who started in our Baby Swim program and has progressed, uninterrupted by participation in any other program, to the National Age Championships.

“We produce ‘thinking swimmers’ who are safer in and around water no matter how you want to enjoy it, whether as a family or a competitive swimmer at the national level.

“We are so proud of our teachers and lifeguards who we have had the privilege to work with over our 16 years at NBLC.”

A Townsville City Council spokesman confirmed that City Venue Management had been appointed as the new operator, advising “given the current lease was coming to an end for the operations of the Northern Beaches Leisure Centre, council conducted a public tender process in the final months of 2024.

“In a competitive process, council has awarded the operations of the Northern Beaches Leisure Centre to Queensland-owned City Venue Management, who will take over the operations of the facility from March 1, 2025.

“City Venue Management are working closely with the current lessee to transition pool operations in the coming weeks as smoothly as possible.

“The current operator is contracted to continue services up until the end of their lease, and Council does not expect a disruption in the services provided.”

Riverway Lagoons reopen
The Council has also advised that two lagoons at its Riverway recreation and sport precinct have reopened following extensive work by Council team members to repair damage from recent flooding

The Council’s team spent two-and-a-half weeks, pumping about one metre of floodwater out of the plant room and undertaking repairs to pumps and equipment that were damaged during the event.

Council teams and contractors also removed debris from the lagoons by hand while the pumps were being repaired, chemical dosing to bring water quality back to regulation standards and cleaning the balance tank and backwash tanks to ensure the lagoons remain balanced and filtered.

Images: The Northern Beaches Leisure Centre (top and middle, credit: Townsville City Council) and the two lagoons at the Riverway recreation and sport precinct (below, credit: Adobe Stock).