Esi Maman |
Swimming team (Michael holidays)
The Municipality of Tel Aviv is examining the construction of a complex of swimming pools in the Hadar Yosef sports complex. The entire area passed into the possession of the municipality in full, after it purchased the shares in the area from the Olympic Committee, and it is possible that soon one of the most luxurious pools in Israel will be built there while the swimming industry is yearning for additional facilities.
About a year ago, the responsibility for the complex was transferred to the management of the sports hall company, when the Tel Aviv municipality wants to turn the area, which they purchased from the Olympic committee for NIS 50 million, into an area of high-quality sports facilities. Among other things, a huge multi-purpose building will be built near the tennis courts at a cost estimated at NIS 70 million, the athletics stadium is undergoing renovation, synthetic courts will be built for the residents’ well-being, and these days the municipality is also looking into building a complex of swimming pools.
According to the planning of the pool complex, the municipality will be able to build two pools in the area between the stadium and the Olympic Committee building – an Olympic pool of ten lanes 50 meters long and another pool of eight lanes 25 meters long. It has already been approved by the IBA, but the municipality has not yet decided whether to go for it.
Sources familiar with the plan stated that the construction of the pools are only at the stage of preliminary discussions, but that officials from the municipality and the sports hall company have already visited the Wingate Institute to examine what is needed to maintain pools of this size. Such a facility will upgrade the complex in Hadar Yosef and turn it into an impressive regional sports center, with the light rail also passing through it in the future.
In the meantime, Tel Aviv Municipality officials considered whether to qualify the Hadar Yosef athletics stadium for official soccer games in the lower leagues as well, but at the moment it seems unlikely that this will happen due to the size of the grass area and the safety requirements that require a massive renovation of the stands at a high cost. In any case, it seems that Tel Aviv is on its way to a grandiose plan to upgrade the sports facilities in the city.
