British ColumbiaPrince George, B.C., Mayor Simon Yu is questioning the decision to close the city’s aquatic centre for at least two years, starting in 2026 — but the city’s facilities director says it is the most efficient way to provide repairs and renovations necessary to extend the facility’s life.Facilities director says extended closure most efficient way to manage needed renovationsAndrew Kurjata · CBC News · Posted: Oct 25, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesPrince George, B.C. mayor Simon Yu says he wants the city to reconsider a plan to close down the city’s aquatic centre for more than two years for renovations and repairs. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)The mayor of Prince George, B.C. is questioning the decision to close the municipally-run Prince George Aquatic Centre for at least two years, starting in 2026.The city says the extended closure is needed to extend the lifespan of the facility and that a plan is in place to redirect programs to the downtown Canfor Leisure Pool.But Simon Yu — who is an avid swimmer as well as an engineer — says that plan was put into place before he was elected and he’d like to revisit the decision.”It’s like when we renovate our house,” he said. “Do we move out of the house … or should we maybe just do a little expansion?” LISTEN | Mayor opposes closure plan:Radio West10:09Prince George Mayor Simon Yu disputes Aquatic Centre closurePrince George Mayor Simon Yu is an engineer and a regular pool user. He hopes the plan to close the Aquatic Centre for two years can be revisited by city council.In an interview with CBC’s Daybreak North, the city’s civic facilities and events director Andy Beesley also used the metaphor of house renovations, but to defend the plan.”My house is 40 years old,” he said. “We maintain our house really, really well. But we’ve had to replace the roof, we’ve had to replace our doors and windows. “Once we cracked open the walls, the insulation was rotten and we had to do some work on the drywall,” he continued. “And it’s the same thing with the aquatic centre, except on a much grander scale.”LISTEN | Beesley answers questions about Aquatic Centre closure:Daybreak North10:14Upgrades force City of Prince George to pull the plug on pool for two years.City swimmers will rely on a smaller pool during the two years of work on the Aquatic Centre.The scope of repairs and renovations needed, he said, could be conducted in bits and pieces as proposed by the mayor.But the staffer argues the result would be much more expensive than the $37 million already budgeted for the renovation, and result in more lost days of swimming, albeit not all at once.”This is one of these moments where 25 or 30 years from now, people are going to look back and say, ‘That was amazing that the taxpayers in the community put up with that for that two years, because it’s extended the life for a lot, a lot more years for this great facility.”He also reiterated the promise to extend hours at the downtown pool in order to accommodate the additional visitors, including swim clubs who use the aquatic centre for training.Beesley said ultimately, it would be up to mayor and council to decide if they’d like to pursue an alternative plan as suggested by Yu — but he is confident the one currently in place will best serve the community in the long term.With files from Dana Kelly and Betsy Trumpener
Prince George mayor wants city to reconsider 2-year-long closure of aquatic centre
