Photo Resource The De Bongerd swimming pool will be replaced by a new building. The new pool will be located next to the current building on the site that is currently a parking lot.
The old swimming pool will remain open during construction. Completion is scheduled for 2033. The choice of location for the new pool was preceded by a long process. No fewer than twelve possible locations were investigated. The current location was initially considered too small due to the planned reconstruction of the adjacent Nijenoordallee/Churchillweg intersection. According to the municipality, an additional study shows that it is possible after all.
Chlorine-free
The municipality has already set aside €8.5 million for the construction of the new swimming pool. That is less than a third of the estimated €29 million that the new building will cost. That amount will increase if the pool is to be chlorine-free. The mayor and aldermen want to save up the money over the coming years.
New construction on the parking lot means that parking space must be found elsewhere. That space has been found on the WUR campus. The WUR board of directors has agreed to cooperate. The parking spaces to be created can then be used by the swimming pool and other sports facilities at the sports park.
Third pool
The new swimming pool will be the third indoor swimming pool in Wageningen’s swimming history. The first pool at Rustenburg in the city center was opened in 1968. That building served for 30 years. In 1998, the current building at De Bongerd sports park followed. When the new building is completed, this swimming pool will have been in use for 35 years.
Translated with DeepL
