Sparkman Club Fundraises for New Pools

Sparkman Neighborhood Club supporters have raised $400,000 of a $500,000 goal to replace the pools.

The board’s goal is to break ground in mid to late October or November to open in time for Memorial Day Weekend 2024.

The money raised so far for the project has come from cash donations ($260,000) and pledges ($140,000) that will be collected over the next year and a half or so. The fundraising campaign, known as “More Than a Pool,” started in late 2022, and leaders are hoping to raise the full $500,000 by December.

The pools — one for children, one main pool with a lap section, and one adult pool — were built in the late ‘50s when Sparkman Club opened. It’s gone through minor renovations over the years, or what Sparkman Neighborhood Club president Shelby Williamson calls a facelift, but a rebuild will help make the plumbing adequate and adjust to code changes.

“We’ve got to get everything up to snuff and just basically keep the pool alive because that’s what keeps our neighborhood bonded together,” Williamson said. 

Funds raised have come from club members, former members, and Sparkman Club Estates residents. Those who donated $2,000 will get their name on a tile in the new pool.

“(We’re) just trying to get some of that capital to be able to make the pool last for the next several generations,” Williamson said.

Sparkman Neighborhood Club board member Justin Coppedge said replacement is the best option to make adequate repairs to the pools.

“The pools have served the community well for 60-plus years now, but they’ve kind of reached the end of their useful life both in terms of the structures themselves and the equipment, the piping, etc.,” Coppedge said.

Sparkman Club leaders have created a concept drawing and put the bid out to five pool contractors before deciding who’s going to execute the project.

Coppedge said that those who live in Sparkman Club Estates, such as himself, are “incredibly grateful for the community that is there, and to still have a neighborhood club with the pools that we do is fairly unique here in Dallas.”

“Our ability to raise the funds that we have so far and to have the community’s (and) neighborhood’s support for a project like this, I think really just speaks to the closeness and the commitments that so many folks who live in Sparkman have,” Coppedge said.