Plans for a long-awaited aquatic centre are beginning to take shape as the city moves to hire a designer for the next phase of the South Winnipeg Recreation Campus.

The City of Winnipeg issued a request for proposals seeking consulting services to design an aquatic facility at 15 Ruth Crossing — a project that would expand the growing recreation campus in Waverley West.

“It’ll be like a Pan Am pool,” public works committee chair and Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes said in an interview.

Council approved $1.5 million in the 2026 budget to fund early design work and public engagement. Lukes estimates the aquatic facility will cost between $40 million and $60 million, comparable to the Thompson Regional Aquatic Centre currently under construction. That project is estimated to cost $42.6 million.

Lukes said the goal is to build a facility that serves a rapidly growing part of the city.

“We’ve got 71,000 people that live in my ward alone … most wards are 50,000 to 55,000,” she said.

A post on the city’s Engage Winnipeg website says the new facility will include multiple aquatic features such as a lap pool, leisure pool, lazy river, waterslides, spray features, hot tub, steam room and multi-purpose room for events such as birthday parties.

The campus itself has been years in the making, with land acquisition, planning and funding agreements stretching back more than a decade. 

Lukes said the broader vision is to create a modern regional facility that reflects how Winnipeg’s population is changing.

“This is a regional campus,” she said.

The aquatic centre is not included in the campus’s current construction phase, which focuses on a multi-use recreation facility with gymnasiums, fitness space, child care and other amenities.

The city’s latest quarterly report on the campus says the broader project is more than halfway through its design phase, with construction of the main recreation centre and child-care facility expected to begin in early 2026 and end in 2027.

The total forecast cost for the campus currently is about $129.6 million, including federal and provincial funding for the recreation centre, along with provincially funded components such as the daycare and vocational space.

Lukes expects council will vote to award the contract for construction to one of two bidders later this month.

While the design process on the aquatic facility is getting underway, funding for construction has not yet been secured.

“Basically, my job is to go and find the money once they figure out how much it’s going to be,” Lukes said.

The need for more aquatic space has been a longstanding issue in Winnipeg, particularly when it comes to swimming lessons, Lukes said.

“That is the huge, huge shortage in our city,” she said. “I used to line up at five in the morning to get in line so my kids could take swimming lessons, and I wouldn’t always get a spot,” she said.

The aquatic centre is envisioned as part of a larger, phased recreation campus that could eventually include additional amenities such as an ice arena and library.