Amarillo City Council Decides Fate of Two Popular Pools

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we brought to light how Amarillo could be losing a couple of popular pools this coming summer. Southeast and Southwest pools were in danger of being closed permanently, which would give us two less options in the summer.

The Amarillo City Council got together on January 13, 2026, and one of the items on the agenda was voting on whether or not to keep the pools open or shut them down. They voted, and now we have an answer.

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Southwest Pool To Be Permanently Closed

After a lengthy and productive discussion, councilmembers voted on the fate of the two pools. It was voted that Southwest Pool would be permanently closed. Southwest Pool was built back in the 70's and has been a staple in Amarillo.

They cited some of the issues facing them at the pool as the reason they felt closing it permanently would be the right move. They said the outdated equipment, leaks, and voids beneath the pool's structure could pose major safety concerns should they reopen the pool. They have spent a lot of money each year just trying to maintain those issues.

Southeast Pool May Remain Open

In the vote, they opted to keep the Southeast Pool shut down for the time being, but stopped short of permanently closing the facility, which was built in the 1960s. The city wants to conduct an engineering study to see if the facility has a chance to be repaired and keep it open.

Councilmember for Place 1, Tim Reid, said the decision to do some further evaluation of Southeast Pool was a compromise to see if there was any viability to fixing the facility to where it could remain open for years to come. There is no timeline yet for the study to be conducted.