Flemish Swim Clubs Sink Under Lago and Sportoase Costs

Swimming clubs across Flanders say the shift from municipal pools to venues run by commercial operators Lago and Sportoase has come with sharply higher costs, lost pool lanes and shrinking memberships — in one club’s case, a fall from 650 members to just 200. The operators say the new pools are modern, sustainable and well-maintained, but clubs argue the economics now threaten grassroots and competitive swimming alike, VRT NWS reported.

A good pool, a financial hangover

Lago opened its first Flemish pool in Pelt in 2003; Sportoase followed in 2005 with its Philipssite site in Leuven. Lago now runs 15 pools in Belgium, Sportoase 20. As local authorities have balked at the cost of renovating ageing facilities, these operators have stepped in — often through public-private partnerships (PPS) in which the municipality co-invests and pays an annual fee.

The pools themselves are generally large and modern. But at Sportoase, an individual ticket costs an average of EUR 5.80, against EUR 4.90 at municipal and city pools. Lane rental and swimming lessons are more expensive too.

At De Bredense Bruinvissen in Bredene, lane rental jumped from nothing to nearly EUR 18 an hour per lane after the town’s new Lago pool opened in April. “It’s a beautiful, clean pool, that’s certain,” said Timothy Christiaen of the club. “But for now we’re mainly left with a financial hangover from the new pool.”

“We now pay almost 18 euros per hour per lane, versus 0 euros before,” he said. “That’s why we had to raise our membership fee this season. What we feared has happened immediately: we have fewer members since September.” The club has asked the municipality for support but was told no money is currently available, VRT NWS noted. Bredene pays about EUR 2 million a year for 30 years under its PPS with Lago, on top of roughly EUR 6.5 million in preparatory site investment.

From 650 members to 200

The experience in Grimbergen is more stark. Swimming Club Strombeek Grimbergen watched its membership collapse after the municipality partnered with Lago four years ago. “In 2020 we still had 650 members. Now we’re at 200,” said Luc Robion, who has been involved with the club for 50 years.

A key grievance is the loss of beginner lessons. Lago reserves teaching the youngest children for itself, Robion said. “Lago no longer allows us to teach the youngest children — the kids who still have to learn to swim. Lago does that itself, because they too know that’s the biggest source of income. So we’ve lost that.”

The consequences reach beyond the balance sheet. “Now that we no longer get to know the children at a young age, we don’t know who has talent either,” Robion said. “That way competitive swimming will die a silent death, I fear.” He added that Lago charges EUR 15 per half-hour for lessons the club once offered at EUR 7 an hour.

Christiaen raised a similar equity concern: “Our lessons for the youngest children were so full that we had a waiting list. But Lago’s more expensive lessons are far from full. Do we really want good swimming to be reserved only for those who have a lot of money?”

Clubs also complain they no longer get exclusive use of the pool during training and must share lanes with recreational lap swimmers. “We have to share it now with the lap swimmers,” Robion said. “But then you swim at two speeds: the people doing a few relaxed laps after work, and our members practising butterfly alongside them.” Because members now train at different times, “there is no group feeling left at all.”

In Sint-Niklaas, De Wase Waterpolo moved into Sportoase De Watermolen at the start of 2026. “The price to hire lanes hasn’t doubled, as we expected, but tripled,” said club chair Lien Van de Voorde. “We’re being forced into a straitjacket. They make a decision, then inform us of it. There’s a lot of communication, but we have no say.” The club also lost two lanes, she said — a problem for water polo, which needs space.

A wider trend

The clubs’ plight reflects a broader squeeze on Flemish swimming. Some 54 indoor public pools have closed in the region over the past 20 years, leaving around 140, according to VRT NWS. Operating costs are steep: the municipality of Aalter expects a EUR 278,000 energy bill this year, plus EUR 185,000 for cleaning and EUR 28,000 for water. Aalst paid EUR 260,000 for energy and EUR 108,000 for water the previous year.

A 2025 Flemish “pool decree” offers subsidies of up to EUR 150,000 a year for 30 years — about EUR 4.5 million — to 40 new or fully renovated public pools, the Flemish government states. The scheme also caps club, school and non-profit tariffs at EUR 18.50 per lane per hour. Yet after 18 months only four applications had been filed — from Zaventem, Puurs-Sint-Amands, Bree and Veurne. Flemish Sports Minister Annick De Ridder said local authorities need time to prepare dossiers and expects more applications next year.

The price gap is visible nationwide. A VRT NWS survey of 150 pools found the average dip costs EUR 4.00 in Flanders and EUR 3.60 in Brussels. Municipal pools are usually cheapest, with Lago and Farys similar and Sportoase priciest. Sportoase Philipssite in Leuven charges EUR 8.70 for residents — more than double the Flemish average — while Zedelgem’s municipal pool costs just EUR 1.50. Only nine 50-metre pools remain in Flanders, and Vlaams-Brabant has none.

Institutions pulled two ways

The tension extends to the Flemish Swimming Federation, Zwemfed, which both defends clubs and partners with operators. In May it signed a cooperation agreement with Sportoase on swimming education, Zwemfed announced, saying more than 30,000 children a year gain extra swimming experience through Sportoase schools. Sportoase’s general director, Michael Schouwaerts, said the partnership helps children “find their way to local swimming clubs.”

Lago’s spokesperson, Lore Walravens, defended the company’s approach: “Lago and the city or municipality we work with try to make a pool a profitable business. We also think it’s important that our infrastructure is accessible and sustainable. But that naturally brings higher costs.” She said tariffs are always coordinated with the local authority and that Lago’s lessons are “not intended to compete with swimming clubs.” Sportoase declined to comment.

What to watch

Not everyone is pessimistic. Van de Voorde hopes the problems in Sint-Niklaas are “teething troubles,” noting that Sportoase also needs its clubs. Leuven’s sports alderman, Christophe Stockman, cautioned against comparing “apples with pears,” pointing to Sportoase’s extra facilities — while stressing the city deliberately kept its Kessel-Lo pool under municipal management, where residents pay EUR 3.20. The coming year will test whether promised subsidy applications and new partnerships can keep grassroots swimming affordable — or whether the clubs’ fears of a two-speed sport come true.