Hundreds of man hours from professional contractors have gone into building it, and more than five years of fundraising from dedicated volunteers and a giving community have gone into supporting it.
All that’s missing from the new swimming pool in Outlook is an actual name for the soon-to-open aquatic facility.
Until now.
As learned at the April 10 meeting of town council, the site will be named the ‘Van Raay & Community Swimming Pool’. The name recognizes the ground-breaking donation of Alberta cattle producer and philanthropist Cor Van Raay, who gave the pool’s fundraising committee an eyeball-popping cheque in the summer of 2016 for $500,000.
It has long been speculated that the generous donation would include a form of naming rights of Mr. Van Raay’s choosing.
The pool’s title will include the colors of blue and green, matching the Town of Outlook’s logo colors.
Swimming pools aren’t the only thing Van Raay supports or has his name attached to, as the City of Lethbridge is set to open the ‘Cor Van Raay YMCA’ on May 4 at the city’s ATB Centre, a 256,000-square-foot facility made possible by a massive donation by Van Raay in the amount of $3.75 million.
No firm opening date for Outlook’s new swimming pool has been set in stone, but early June has been mentioned as a possibility.
