Parks and Recreation System Master Plan Update (2016) parks_and_recreation_system_master_plan_update_oct | Page 112

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Mid-term: It was recommended that LMPRD construct a major new multi-sports
complex in which swimming (and diving) would be one of the major activities. (See
Section B.3 for further discussion.)
Long-term: The LMPRD should develop a pool in the south-eastern area of Louisville as
new residential neighborhoods develop. The need for an 18 th pool should be evaluated
at a later date.
2016 Status
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• LMPRD manages 4 outdoor
pools, one indoor aquatics center, 15
spraygrounds and 16 spraypads.
• One pool, located at E.P. “Tom”
Sawyer State Park, is operated by the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. There are
spraygrounds at Beckley Creek Park and
Broad Run Park – part of the Parklands
of Floyds Fork.
• Several quasi- public pools are
provided by organizations such as the
Sprayground at Shawnee Park
YMCA and churches.
In 2008, LMPRD made the difficult decision to close seven pools. The decision was the
result of several factors including: new federal regulation requiring prohibitively
expensive structural changes to the pools, cost of operation, liability, low overall use,
and a short season. In addition, LMPRD no longer operates any of the pools on JCPS
sites.
The decision to close the pools spurred an initiative to build additional, modern
spraygrounds which are more cost efficient and have a longer season than pools.
The spraygrounds feature interactive and/or complex elements with electronic timing.
See Figure A.8 in Appendix A for distribution of swimming pools, and Figure A.2 for
distribution of spraygrounds and spraypads.
Golf
Louisville’s public golf courses were well attended at the time of the 1995 Plan, with a
total of 380,000 rounds played in 1993. This averaged out to well over 40,000 rounds per
course, considerably in excess of a 1992 national average of just over 30,000⁴.
In 1995, public golf courses were generally recognized in the United States as a potential
revenue generating facility for municipalities. At that time, the LMPRD was implementing
measures to operate its better quality courses (e.g., Vettiner and Seneca) as profit centers.
Parks and Recreation System Master Plan | IV. PARK AND RECREATIONAL FACILITY NEEDS
ANALYSIS
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