There are plenty of under used municipal and school pools across the country that could be bought or managed by an outside organization, just for the promise of occasional public access. USMS is not loaded with money, but has lots of knowledge and experienced people who could pull off a stunt like this. One club in Indiana has done just this thing by taking over a county pool that was in peril of closing because it could not afford to operate it. As far as I know, the agreement is still in force and the USMS club is still paying for operations by its own management and programming.
San Diego has three public pools but cannot afford to keep them all open at once, so they have one or two open and close the other one (or two) on a rotating basis. Not a good way to keep programs filled.
Our pool (circa 1971, 6 lanes, ~42yd with a bulkhead) has been managed since 2009 by the USA-S team that has swum there for years. Pool is still "owned" by school district, but USA-S team takes on the risk and responsibility of running. Team runs two other pools as well.
It takes a variety of programming to run in the black. Swim lessons - small classes - are a HUGE part of making the whole thing pencil out. Pool time is expensive here bc there isn't any subsidy from a city or county. Example: our masters team dues are $120/month. Takes a very dedicated volunteer Operating Board to keep the pools running. There is a paid exec besides all the paid pool staff. During HS season pool is used from 5am to 10pm (a few dead hours in there). Masters get 6 lanes at 6am (after HS) and 3 lanes at noon. USA-S team has staggered workouts 7 days a week. Lessons are usually 4 students per class. Each class is weekly, so there are a LOT of people signed up for classes at any one time. Newer pool configurations have rec pools which generally support the lap pool as the lessons do in our pools. A lap pool, by itself, usually can't run in the black. Could be different for an outdoor pool in a warm area.
Team could likely profitably operate a modern 50m facility, with separate teaching pool, but we have been unable to get any sort of ballot measure passed to build one.
Our pool (circa 1971, 6 lanes, ~42yd with a bulkhead) has been managed since 2009 by the USA-S team that has swum there for years. Pool is still "owned" by school district, but USA-S team takes on the risk and responsibility of running. Team runs two other pools as well.
It takes a variety of programming to run in the black. Swim lessons - small classes - are a HUGE part of making the whole thing pencil out. Pool time is expensive here bc there isn't any subsidy from a city or county. Example: our masters team dues are $120/month. Takes a very dedicated volunteer Operating Board to keep the pools running. There is a paid exec besides all the paid pool staff. During HS season pool is used from 5am to 10pm (a few dead hours in there). Masters get 6 lanes at 6am (after HS) and 3 lanes at noon. USA-S team has staggered workouts 7 days a week. Lessons are usually 4 students per class. Each class is weekly, so there are a LOT of people signed up for classes at any one time. Newer pool configurations have rec pools which generally support the lap pool as the lessons do in our pools. A lap pool, by itself, usually can't run in the black. Could be different for an outdoor pool in a warm area.
Team could likely profitably operate a modern 50m facility, with separate teaching pool, but we have been unable to get any sort of ballot measure passed to build one.
