A proposal for a $10 million, 25-metre indoor pool at Lambton is included in the chosen tender for operation of Newcastle's five public swimming pools.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath has selected Bluefit as the preferred tender for the management and operation of the pools, triggering a call for public submissions on the proposal.
If awarded the lease, Bluefit has committed $5 million to the Lambton proposal, which includes a gym, new kiosk and new changerooms. The council has not confirmed where the other $5 million would be sourced, but said Bluefit's commitment was not conditional on matched funding.
The council said BlueFit had also committed to building accessibility facilities at each of the city's five pools.
"BlueFit's proposal also includes freezing entry fees at all local pools this Summer season," Mr Bath said.
"Beresfield Pool, which has long had the lowest entry fee of any local pool, will see its general admission fee further reduced to $2.90 when it reopens at the end of September.
"BlueFit has also confirmed that if they are awarded the contract to manage our local swimming pools, local private swimming school operator Joy Of Water will be able to continue to provide swimming lessons from Beresfield Pool as they have done for the past few years."
Mr Bath said the council was sharing images of the proposed upgrade "to help the community gain a sense of what these improvements at Lambton could look like".
"The four swimming centres already managed locally by BlueFit enjoy a customer satisfaction rating of 85 per cent, which is higher than the region's many other public and private swimming centres," he said.
