Attendance numbers down at northwest Cedar Rapids pool

Cedar Rapids' Ellis Pool reopened one month ago after closing for two years because of flood damage. Much of the neighborhood surrounding Ellis Pool remains empty.

Approximately 70 fewer people swim at the pool each day this year compared to 2007, the year before the flood.

The city makes about $90 less on the pool every day now (not including season passes) compared to before the disaster. Swimming lesson numbers have also dropped.110 people signed up for lessons in 2007. 88 have signed up in 2010.

“It's not quite as bad you might think it is. We've got some good, positive signs,” Aquatics Manager Carolyn Hamilton said. “This pool is a very important part of the aquatics program and we're willing to support it for as long as we possibly can. I don't see that ending anytime soon.”

Those who live within walking distance of the pool celebrate the return of their favorite place to cool off on a hot summer day.

“I'm glad they didn't close it and let it go by the wayside. They're making an effort,” Becky Ford said. She lives a few blocks away from the pool and loves to take her children swimming. “I'm really thankful they have something to come back to that's the way it used to be.”

But, on Wednesday afternoon, most people at the pool did not live nearby. The pool that almost dried up seems to have become a prime place for people willing to drive to have more room to dive.

“You can swim and relax. You don't get trampled. There's a place to sit,” Kim Brentner of the Southwest Side of Cedar Rapids said. “It's less busy.”

Jeremy Gardner of the Northeast Side of Cedar Rapids said, “There's a little more space to move around and a little more space in the pool.”

Even children enjoy swimming at Ellis to escape the crowds at larger pools closer to their house.

“Nobody really knows, except for the people that are here, that this pool is back open because of how close it is to the river,” 8 year old Drew Schaefer of Hiawatha said. “I love being out here.”

Bever Pool is the most comparable facility to Ellis. City staff members report attendance numbers there have also slightly declined, but not nearly as much as Ellis. In 2007, approximately 316 people visited the pool each day in June. This year, that number has dropped to 291.

Pool staff members say a variety of other factors including the economy and the weather can also affect pool attendance numbers.

“As the summer goes along and we have more and more beautiful days like this, I believe our numbers will pick up,” Hamilton said.