Visitation declines at Invercargill's Splash Palace aquatic facility

Invercargill City Council has revealed that user numbers at its Splash Palace aquatic facility have fallen significantly in comparison to visitation compared to five years ago.

Attendance at the facility during the 2021/22 financial year where down by 200,000 visits compared to years before the COVID-19 pandemic although, as reported by New Zealand news website Stuff, part of the dip in numbers over the past year was down to it being closed during June for maintenance work.

However, Invercargill City Council Assistant Group Manager Leisure and Recreation, Richard McWha said it had also been a challenge getting people back using Splash Palace following Covid-19 disruptions, commenting “engagement levels in the community fall away as routines have been disrupted. The challenge now is to re-engage and increase participation for the benefit of our community’s health and well-being.”

Stuff also reported that Council’s Leisure and Recreation Group Manager Steve Gibling pointed to last August’s lockdown and COVID-19 measures, including lane restrictions following the lockdown, as having an impact on people returning to the pool.

Gibling noted “in order to facilitate community swimming we had to have a lane gap between swimmers and one swimmer per lane.”

As part of the Council’s 2021-2031 Long-term Plan, an additional pool is to be added to the facility between 2029-2031 at a cost of $8.2 million.

McWha said the plan for a second pool wasn’t about meeting participation demand but instead was about opening up a new market with hydrotherapy, spa and other developments.

McWha also told a recent Council meeting that staff were working hard to try to get people back to using the pool regularly with various promotions.

He said there had been some positive progress during July when the pool was reopened, and he was confident participation numbers were on an upward trend again

The Council has also allocated $4.9 million in its 2021-2031 Plan for seismic strengthening work and maintenance at Invercargill’s Rugby Park.