Public pools are an affordable recreation service, meeting the socio-economic needs of the community while teaching an important life skill.  Yes, they collect revenue from daily use, swimming lessons, rentals, swim teams, additional programming, and concessions. Unfortunately, this revenue does not cover all the expenses to operate a pool.  Therefore, municipalities and districts must use funding from other sources, such as the general fund or another revenue stream, to ensure the facility’s expenses are covered, and it can continue to operate.

The Recreation District, with the help of industry experts from Ballard*King and BRS, prepared proformas in 2024 for the feasibility study and in 2025 during the design phase of the previously proposed pool facility.  A proforma is an estimated revenue and expense worksheet. To generate an accurate proforma, benchmarking (comparison with similar facilities) was used, as well as potential cost estimates for operating a facility in Cañon City.  For planning purposes, the Recreation District is targeting approximately 50% cost recovery for a seasonal pool.

When benchmarking, the Recreation District has looked at other seasonal facilities in Colorado.  For example, the City of Pueblo operates four seasonal pools, with an estimated annual facility cost of $400,000 each.  On average, they have an operational subsidy of a little over $200,000 per pool.  In other words, they need an additional $200,000 beyond the revenue collected to cover operational expenses.  In the smaller communities of Eagle and Rifle, they each have a seasonal pool that the Recreation District is using for estimating operations.  Both facilities have two bodies of water and a slide, like what is being proposed for Cañon City.  In Rifle they have around $590,000 in expenses and $300,000 in revenue for a cost recovery percentage of 51% in their 2026 budget.   It is a little more difficult to compare with Eagle as they include the swimming pool expenses and revenues with their year-round ice arena.  However, if you separate the numbers, the pool’s expenses are around $570,000 and revenues are around $283,000 for a cost recovery of 50%.  Again, assumptions are being made based on how they organize their budget, but it is close.

The 2024 Ballard*King proforma was based on a seasonal pool; the 2025 BRS proforma on a year-round option. Using this information and comparing it to the 2026 numbers from Rifle, the Recreation District believes it is on the right track for an estimated $250,000 annual subsidy for a seasonal pool facility.

Actual performance will vary from year to year, particularly as weather affects attendance and revenue at an outdoor seasonal pool. Over time, the operating subsidy should also be expected to adjust with inflation and rising operating costs, particularly labor. An annual review will help ensure funding keeps pace with the level of service provided.