Financial and user-oriented performance assessment of aquatic centres : a decision-support framework

Aquatic centres are essential community infrastructure assets that support public health, recreation, and social well-being. Across Canada, municipalities face growing challenges in managing these facilities, including aging infrastructure, high operating costs, and increasing user expectations. Due to these challenges, aquatic centres require an effective decision-making framework that considers asset condition, financial performance, and user experience. However, current approaches often assess these dimensions in isolation. This research addresses this gap by developing a decision-support framework that evaluates aquatic centre performance through both financial efficiency and user-oriented perspectives. The framework is centred around the development of a decision-support model, which includes four key steps: (i) identification of criteria and indicators, (ii) data collection, (iii) financial and user-oriented performance assessment, and (iv) sensitivity analysis. Performance assessment includes two phases. First, each facility is assessed using a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) that shows how operating costs, asset condition, and monetary benefits contribute to financial efficiency. Second, a user-oriented performance assessment is conducted to examine how the facility performs in terms of user-oriented benefits. This dual approach provides a broader understanding of how aquatic centres balance social value with financial sustainability. The proposed framework was applied to selected aquatic centres in British Columbia to demonstrate its practicality. The findings highlight the need for holistic evaluation frameworks that capture the interconnected nature of costs, asset condition, and user experience. The outcome of this research supports municipalities in identifying performance gaps, prioritizing investments, and making informed decisions to maintain high-quality and financially sustainable aquatic centres.