Audit says Vancouver pools, rinks, and centres face tough future | Daily Hive

Vancouver’s pools, rinks, and centres face tough future, audit says

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A new audit revealed that most of Vancouver’s recreation facilities, including community centres, pools, and ice rinks, are in poor condition and are facing significant funding challenges.

The Office of the Auditor General for the City of Vancouver released its Audit of Recreation Facility Asset Management report on Sept. 11, 2025.

It found that 72 per cent of facilities were in “poor or very poor” condition, while just 28 per cent were rated as “good or fair.”

The audit looked at 46 facilities, including community centres, pools, and ice rinks, and estimated that they faced a $33 million annual funding deficit.

That shortfall was part of the City’s wider $500 million yearly infrastructure deficit across all assets.

Dunbar Community Centre is among Vancouver’s aging recreation facilities. (City of Vancouver)

The audit also warned that without new investment, the City could have been forced to close or decommission facilities rather than repair or replace them.

A high-profile example of aging infrastructure was the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, which first opened in 1974.

In 2022, part of its exterior wall collapsed, showing how far beyond their intended lifespan some facilities were operating.

The report noted that Vancouver still did not have a “formal capital asset management framework,” the type of long-term planning tool that helps municipalities decide how to maintain, renew, or replace facilities.

Without it, decisions on repairs and upgrades were made on a piecemeal basis.

The report included 13 recommendations, such as creating a city-wide asset management plan, setting clear service-level targets, and improving preventative maintenance.

Auditor General Mike Macdonell wrote in the report that the City will eventually need to make tough calls about which facilities to save.

“The implication of this reality is that if maintenance and renewal gaps are not bridged through taxpayer funding or other means, the City will have to make the difficult decision as to which assets are a priority – ones it will keep and replace – and which assets it will decommission and not replace and, by extension, which services will be discontinued,” Macdonell said in the Audit of Recreation Facility Asset Management in the report.

Daily Hive has reached out to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation for comment.

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