South Edmonton residents waiting for a replacement to the old Scona Pool are going to keep waiting. The proposed Rollie Miles Recreation Centre project in the Queen Alexandra neighbourhood remains completely unfunded and stuck in bureaucratic limbo.
If you live anywhere near Strathcona High School, you already know how painful the loss of local aquatic and fitness infrastructure has been. City council committees keep reviewing updates, but reality keeps getting in the way. Building this facility is no small undertaking, and the numbers tell a frustrating story.
The Price Tag Versus Capital Realities
Let us look at why this project is stalled. The estimated capital cost to bring the Rollie Miles recreation facility and its surrounding park elements to life sits around $130 million to $150 million.
During recent municipal updates, city officials laid out a hard truth. Allocating that much cash to a single south-side community hub would consume roughly ten percent of Edmonton's entire capital budget over a four-year cycle. That massive fiscal footprint makes immediate construction a non-starter for city planners juggling infrastructure deficits across the entire municipality.
Elected officials frame it as a timing problem rather than a flat rejection. It is a "when" conversation, not an "if" conversation. Unfortunately, the "when" feels light-years away for frustrated locals who watched Scona Pool shut down permanently in 2022.
What Was Supposed to Go There
Back when preliminary designs wrapped up, the community engagement reports painted a picture of a vibrant, modern hub. The blueprint for 10450 72 Avenue NW featured a compact, efficient layout designed to fit right into the Queen Alexandra district.
The facility design included:
- A multi-lane swimming pool and a separate teaching pool.
- A modern fitness area and gymnasium space.
- Multi-purpose rooms for community programs.
- An indoor multi-purpose court built to handle basketball, roller hockey, and family programs.
- Outdoor additions like a winter skate loop and upgraded sports infrastructure.
Preliminary design work is finished, and public consultations checked all the administrative boxes back in late 2023. Yet, stopping at preliminary designs leaves the neighborhood with digital flythrough videos instead of a functioning gym.
Where Locals Are Supposed to Go Now
City reports point out that residents can simply travel to alternative facilities. The Kinsmen Sports Centre sits to the north, while the Confederation Leisure Centre operates further south.
Anyone trying to book swim lanes or drop-off kids for youth sports during peak hours knows those locations are already stretched thin. Relying on facilities miles away defeats the purpose of walkable, community-level neighborhood infrastructure.
Advocates have lobbied for local recreation options on this site for nearly two decades. Demolishing Scona Pool without a funded replacement lined up left a massive gap in south Edmonton's active lifestyle network. Until council finds an alternative funding mechanism, public-private partnership, or senior government grant support, the Rollie Miles project stays frozen on the drawing board.
