‘This centre has been kind of jinxed:’ Troubled East Lions Community Centre pool to close over summer to replace windows

A pool in the London community is set to close for the summer for repairs. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell has the story.

Major repairs have sunken pool users’ hopes of making a splash at the East Lions Community Centre this summer. The pool will be closed for three months while crews replace windows.

Pool users Dan and Darlene Breen were disappointed upon hearing the news but not surprised.

“It’s disappointing. The summer’s coming. That’s when people want to use it the most. Even though it is indoors, it’s still a pool to cool off,” said Dan.

“It’s very important to the community. For kids, for swimming lessons, a lot of parents will do that over the summer with their kids,” added Darlene.

The city says it has to close the East Lions indoor pool from July 2 until the end of September to replace the pool windows. The work will address previous damage and improve on the design. Deputy Mayor and Ward 2 councillor Shawn Lewis concedes the timing is not ideal, but the work must be completed.

“It’s not great news, in that we are not going to have our pool for the summer. We’ll be closing after Canada Day. But it is good news that the permanent fix is coming,” said Lewis.

“And we’re going to do this during the summer while our other outdoor pools, Stronach, Silverwoods, are open so that people have other options.”

The four-year-old $21 million community centre at Wavell Street and Churchill Avenue has been beset with problems since its ground-breaking in 2017. Labour disputes and the firing of the original contractor led to multiple delayed openings.

In February 2023, part of the roof collapsed. And later that year, vandals destroyed several large windows.

In 2024, the city found water damage in the ceiling.

Last fall, a hydro transformer malfunctioned, causing a temporary power outage. In the meantime, a lawsuit by the city against the builder and architect is ongoing.

“Our team, and the bonding company’s team are still working on it. And that’s about all I can say about it right now, is that it’s an ongoing process,” said Lewis.

But for dedicated users, the lengthy and troubling saga of the popular facility has been painful to watch.

“It’s been one thing after another with this centre. It’s unfortunate,” said Darlene Breen

“This centre has been kind of jinxed,” added Dan Breen.

The city says this spring it will offer passes to pool users at East Lions to access other city pools.