Around 9:30 pm local time on the night of March 16th, the Vancouver Aquatic Centre (VAC) suffered roof damage, which rendered parts of the public pool facility closed through tomorrow.
A section of the VAC’s front entrance overhang fell, with pieces of the building’s brown exterior landing on a garden below, exposing metalwork underneath. The Park Board sealed off the area and parts of the facility were closed out of an abundance of caution and to enable a structural assessment to be undertaken.
“Thankfully no one was injured, but out of an abundance of caution, Parks and Recreation staff are closing the building for the remainder of the day while it undergoes an assessment,” the Park Board told Daily Hive in a statement. “We’ll know more following the assessment.”
The damage was rendered repairable to the point that the VAC can now open up again on Saturday, March 19th. It is still unclear what caused the damage, although the facility’s construction was completed 48 years ago.
Per CBC, in 2014, city staff looked at the cost of renovating the facility and estimated the project to be $40 million.
The Canadian Dolphin Swim Club is among the swim teams that practice out of the VAC.
Vancouver's community and recreational facilities are literally falling apart.
The plan to build a new replacement Vancouver Aquatic Centre should probably be accelerated. #vanpoli #vanrehttps://t.co/77HMu7t25k
— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) March 16, 2022
The Vancouver Aquatics Centre's front entrance is currently closed due to a piece of facia that fell near the door. VAC remains open & visitors are asked to enter through the side door (off the parking lot). Let's all be safe; please follow the signs & staff direction on site.
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) March 16, 2022
Good news! The Vancouver Aquatic Centre will reopen tomorrow morning at 6:30am. Please note that for everyone's safety, the front doors will remain closed, but visitors can entre from the west side door adjacent to the parking lot. https://t.co/OP9two2QxZ pic.twitter.com/FsbZQ25ma4
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) March 17, 2022
The Canadian nationals were held there in 1977. It seemed modern at the time but such a dump in comparison to competition pools these days. In particular, we didn’t have a warmup pool aside from that little dive tank you see in the photo above.
Stroke, stroke flip 🤪
I guess Putin’s aim is getting worse and worse!
PTL, no one was injured!!