W. C. Blair Recreation Centre
Langley, British Columbia

The W.C. Blair Centre was a joint project between the Municipality of Langley and the Township of Langley, total combined population 75,000 (in 1986). The Centre – a combination wave/leisure/competition/diving facility – contains the first wavepool in British Columbia. The 35,000 square foot indoor facility was designed specifically to meet the needs of an entire community, focusing both on the serious athlete and the recreational user. Private contractors run the retail and restaurant areas.

In 1997 W.C. Blair had attendance of 327,000 and a recovery rate of 64%.

This facility, which was completed under budget, includes a wave machine producing waves that break onto a zero beach, and play features such as a slide, octopus, cave, raindrop, waterfall, bubble machine, and fountain sprays. A sound and light program activates a "volcano" eruption, complete with smoke machine, prior to wave generation. The interior decor uses palm trees, tropical foliage, rock outcrops, and a steaming volcano to set the scene of an equatorial lagoon. The pool has three levels of lighting that add to the ambiance of the facility. There is the underwater pool lighting, the normal lighting of the facility, and specialty lighting, which can create a warm inviting nightclub atmosphere.

While it may be the innovative, exciting leisure pool which remains the main feature in a recreation complex, the inclusion of other amenities complement in many ways and add to the profitability of the facility.