Bill Cockrell Pool will not open this summer

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Public pools will open across Shreveport just in time for summer, but Bill Cockrell Park won’t be one of them.

Shreveport Public Assembly & Recreation (SPAR) says they’ll close the pool because it’s been tough to maintain, partly due to its old age.

“We do know the repairs are $380,000. We brought in an aquatics engineer to look at all of our pools to make an assessment, and he really feels like it would just be a waste of dollars to put $380,000 into a pool. All of our pools are in desperate need of replacement and major repairs. To build a new pool the size of Bill Cockrell is about $880,000. The future of pools needs to be addressed,” SPAR Director Shelly Ragle said.

SPAR says the age of the pools can also be a factor on the repairs it may need.

“We run into those issues where you have to do some type of repairs. Three of the parks, David Raines Park, Southern Hills Park, Airport Park and we have one at Querbes Park, that we’re doing right now. They have to be able to take some of those items out like the cracks. We have to get those repaired on a daily basis,” SPAR Division Manager for Building Maintenance Ray Hill explained.

“When it comes to the normal wear and tear of the pool systems, due to the age of our pool systems, there are things that are beyond just normal. It’s not like were not maintaining the pool systems annually and we got behind on some things. It’s just the age of something,” Hill said.

The city council said they should revisit the problem to see how they can help, which Ragle offered a possible alternative.

“I think there’s still some funding in the project. It’s not enough to do the pool itself and maybe we take that money. I know we talked about a large spray park there if that would be an option and that’s something we would talk to the community about,” Ragle said.

SPAR said they’re making repairs at their other four parks to make sure they’re ready for the pool season.

SPAR has announced its schedule for the 2023 pool season:

• Southern Hills and David Raines pools will open on Memorial Day (Monday, May 29th) from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
• Airport Park and Querbes pools will open Tuesday, May 30th from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Here’s where to look for the 2023 pool schedule.

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