American swimming fans know all the stars from the Olympics over the years, most notably in recent years Michael Phelps on the men’s side and Katie Ledecky for the women.
This year, as the U.S. Olympic Team sorts out who will represent the country at this summer’s Paris Olympics, the star at this year’s qualifying trials might be the pool where the qualifiers will be determined.
The U.S. swim trials take place June 15-23 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not a surprise, since Indianapolis is one of the more popular big sporting event cities in the country. What is a surprise is the site of the trials – Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and a regular home of the NCAA’s Final Four basketball tournament and the Big Ten Conference football championship.
A CBS Sports report describes the temporary setup – three pools, a 50-meter competition pool and two warmup pools that will be set up behind a curtain. Two million gallons of water is required for the above-ground pools. The water was pumped in from a nearby river and will be constantly treated and then released back into the river after the trials.
The competition pool is 8.2 feet deep and includes a pool deck and 12 rows of stadium seating. The entire buildout on the field measures one acre and took about three weeks to construct.
USA Swimming is relying on the increasing popularity of the sport over the years to draw expected crowds of 30,000 for the opening night, according to The Athletic. This is the first time the trials will be held in a football stadium.
“This is the first time this has ever been attempted,” Mark Dodd, the president of Dodd Technologies and the contractor for the event, told The Athletic. “There are going to be a lot of people who are going to come to this and take a look. We’re going to be the model.”
Dave Lubach is the executive editor of the facilities market.
