The future of swimming in Manhattan Beach took a significant “splash” forward this week, as the City Council voted unanimously to pursue a dual-track strategy for a new aquatics facility. 

The plan keeps alive a private proposal from The Bay Club Company to build and operate a pool complex on city-owned land, while also directing staff to study the feasibility of a city-funded alternative on the same site.

The decision, reached after a lengthy public hearing on November 4, reflects both the urgency of finding alternatives to the city’s aging Begg Pool and some community unease about entrusting the city’s aquatic future to a private operator. Furthermore, many residents have said that what the Bay Club would charge ($60 for a family of four to go for rec swim, compared to $10-$24 for a family of four at neighboring local pools) would be unreasonable. 

A Private Proposal on Public Land

Bay Club, which already leases and operates the Manhattan Country Club, has offered to construct and fully fund an $8-12 million aquatics facility on adjacent city-owned land. The location is within a current parking lot next to the Village soccer field, just east of Manhattan Village Shopping Center, and near to the Manhattan Senior Villas.

(The Bay Club's proposed location for a new Manhattan Beach community pool, just west of the Manhattan Country Club.)

Closeup view of the proposed pool site, along the edge of the country club tennis courts and next to the soccer field.

Bay Club would cover all construction, staffing, and maintenance costs, and in return receive a long-term lease. Under the proposal, Bay Club would control programming and operations, while the city would collect lease revenue.

Two design concepts were presented: one with a single pool, and another with two pools to allow for more flexible programming. Both include a bathhouse with restrooms and changing rooms. The facility would not host competitive swim meets or water polo tournaments, largely due to parking and noise concerns.

Bay Club and council members emphasized that the project is not intended to replace Begg Pool, but to supplement the city’s aquatics offerings. 

“It is simply additional water,” council member Amy Howorth said. “It's more water for people to use.”

Manhattan Beach's Begg Pool, while popular among residents, is nearing the end of its usable life. 

Still, the deteriorating condition of Begg Pool looms large in the discussion. The nearly 80-year-old facility requires $50,000-$60,000 annually in maintenance, and a recent plumbing repair cost more than $100,000. 

Consultants estimate that a full replacement at the current site could cost between $20 million and $40 million, driven in part by ADA compliance requirements.

Complicating matters, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District owns the land where Begg Pool is located. Council members indicated that pool renovations are simply not a school district priority. 

Howorth said of her efforts to work with the district on pool issues, "We've hit a brick wall. There's no collaboration. And that angers me."

Council member Nina Tarnay said, "Residents old and young alike understand [that] Begg Pool, and our high school pool – they're just not sufficient. So we do want another pool."

Bay Club Calls Effort ‘Pure Philanthropy’

In response to questions about profitability concerns driving the proposal, Bay Club executives insisted that their project is not a money-making venture. 

Pete Jones, the company’s executive vice president, told the council: “Our offer to build the aquatic center is pure philanthropy, and loaded with risk. I would be very surprised if in these United States, there are very many municipal pools that are profit-making. I think probably… we are going to be subsidizing this facility for probably the length of the lease.”

Jones also reminded city representatives that Bay Club has offered $1 million “to help subsidize the construction, or the renovation, of the Begg Pool,” calling that also “pure philanthropy.”

Several council members noted that the city has long leased public land to private operators, citing the Westdrift Hotel, Manhattan Country Club and Metlox Plaza as examples. That also means surrendering control over operations, in most cases.

Once concern that emerged was that Bay Club is owned by a private equity firm and could be sold. Council members noted that any lease agreement would need to ensure that its terms remain binding if there is a change in ownership. 

A $60 Swim for a Family of Four?

The proposed fee structure for pool users quickly emerged as the most contentious issue. 

Bay Club has suggested a $15 daily fee for residents, with discounted $10 rates for seniors over 70 and children under 12. That fee would also grant same-day access to Bay Club’s El Segundo or Redondo Beach facilities. (A person would swim at the new pool first, then would presumably need to drive to the other clubs to use the day pass.) For-fee programs, such as swim team or private lessons, would carry additional charges.

While Bay Club touted the benefits of resident "priority access" – two weeks for classes and three days for daily swim slots – many residents balked at the costs. One resident noted that her family of six could be asked to pay $70 for a single visit, compared to the $18 they pay now at Begg Pool.

Council members mentioned the affordability concerns for pool users often. 

Steve Charelian suggested a survey of local residents to ask: “Would you pay, for a family of four, $60 a day to go swimming?”

“What happens if, after five years, they want to double the price, because it's not economically working out?” asked council member Tarnay. “Do we have any control over that?”

Council member Joe Franklin said the Bay Club’s proposed usage fees might not be “out of range,” given how costs are going up. He characterized Begg Pool’s current fees ($3 for residents for rec swim, $5 for non-residents) as “unsustainable” and said the fees were “going to be going up anyway. So maybe it gets closer to that $10 mark in the case of seniors, or the $15 mark in the case of everybody else.”

The resident with a family of 6, who spoke on Zoom but did not identify herself, said, “Unfortunately, I would prefer no new pool… compared to this option. It makes me pretty sad that our kids are going to lose an affordable local place to swim if this plan moves forward.”

Local community pools have much lower rates by comparison. At the new pool in El Segundo, the non-resident rec swim costs are $7 per adult and $5 per child; lap swim is $7 per hour. 

At the Hawthorne pool, rec swim is $3 for adults and $2 for children 17 and under; lap swim is $5 and $3 for seniors 55 and over. 

Parking Issues Could Be an Obstacle

Senior Management Analyst Patricia Matson told the council that the pool’s footprint would displace approximately 30 current parking spaces in the current parking lot by the soccer field. (The soccer field would remain.) 

Bay Club has agreed to fund a parking study once plans are more developed, with options such as shared parking agreements and restriping under consideration.

Council members returned to the topic of parking considerations for the pool repeatedly, expressing some skepticism that parking needs could be adequately met.

Manhattan Senior Villas is a residential building next to the soccer field whose road access is through the parking lot.

Mayor David Lesser expressed concern about “traffic flow” near the pool, where a residential building for seniors is located, and asked, “Who's going to build the sufficient parking [for] this new pool facility? That is a concern for me, and we won't know until we have more data and more of a concept.”

Council member Howorth, a longtime advocate of building a new public pool, clarified that the city was not being asked or expected to build any new parking. “That would make my head explode,” Howorth said.

A Two-Track Path Forward

Ultimately, the council voted 5-0 to pursue a “two-track” approach. 

City staff will continue negotiations with Bay Club, updating the memorandum of understanding and initiating environmental and parking studies. A basic sense of plans for usage of the pool is essential to be able to make utilization estimates for the parking study, council was told.

At the same time, the city will commission an independent cost estimate – expected to cost $5,000 to $10,000 – on building its own aquatics facility at the same site. That study is expected to take three to four months.

Mayor Lesser and council members framed the decision as a way to keep options open while fulfilling their fiduciary duty to residents.

For now, Manhattan Beach swimmers will have to wait to see whether their next pool is built by the city, by Bay Club, or not at all. But with Begg Pool nearing the end of its useful life, the pressure to act is only growing stronger.