6/7/2012 12:06 PM
Like everyone has said a pool is a money pit!
Twice in the last 6 years we have made money off of our pool but once was when we hosted the annual swim invitational which netted us about $14,000 and was run by volunteers. the other time was when we had most of the chemicals donated, they said we made $1,500 but we also had a very high number of summer pool members that year.
I like the idea of a water park, seems like less upkeep.
The maintenance on a pool can be a nightmare. down here around the New Orleans Area you cannot empty a pool out for any longer then a few days without the water pressure popping it out of the ground. about every three years we have to empty it completely pressure wash it and then refill it. about every five years we have to paint it which involves acid etching it after pressure washing it. If we did not do these things in house with my crew we would have filled in our pool years ago. You have to have someone on hand every day to test the water and apply chemiclas. If not properly done you will be in for big trouble.
If your club is like mine we always have volunteers ready to tidy up the pool before the season starts, but funny how they disapear after it opens and expect my crew to maintain their work. I advise you to steer clear of the swimming pool business unless you plan on doing a lot of the work yourself (since you seem to be pushing it).
I do not like the idea of having a 5' deep pool so you do not need a lifeguard. As a club you should feel it is your responsibility to make sure everyone is safe and for that, someone has to watch the pool at all times. a large percentage of injuries from pools come from people diving in and breaking their neck on the bottom of the pool.
To be honest we spend about $50,000 per year in running the pool. that is the cost of chemicals, labor to help keep it up, and the lifeguards and snack shack help. We bring in about $26,000 from our summer memberships and our members has to flip the bill for the rest.
I would imagine that we may have 75 members that are members because they can offer the pool use to their families as well as golf.
While we may have more life guards then your normal pool we save a lot of dollars because one of our board members does most of the testing and even cleaning of the pool in the down months.