By: Emily Ao
A sea of 12,000 fans roar as they watch professional athletes swim at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. The Olympic swimming trials are intense, and the fans are surely enjoying it.
Shana Ferguson, chief commercial officer of USA Swimming, looks upon the crowd and wonders: could this crowd get any bigger? Could they somehow expand this event into a bigger space? How about into a football stadium? On this day, Ferguson decided to pursue this dream.
Three years later, after countless meetings discussing water drainage, construction plans, functionability, and much more, Ferguson’s dream has finally become true. According to the New York Times article, “How Lucas Oil Stadium turned into a swimming pool for the U.S. Olympic Trials,” USA Swimming expects a crowd in this new stadium that could break the previous world record of 30,000 attendees. In addition to die hard fans, some others that happen to be nearby may just stop by to check out what the fuss is about. Even if this statistic is not met, it is still the first time the Olympic trials are being held at a football stadium, showing how groundbreaking this achievement is.
The pool itself, surprisingly, only took three weeks to construct. When it was completed just at the beginning of June, nearly two million gallons of freshwater were taken from the nearby White River to fill it. Filtering the water was extremely important for the health and safety of athletes it would soon be seeing.
Despite looking quite ordinary on the exterior, the pool actually contains many additional features, Ferguson tells us. Although not quite visible, the pool is built slightly above ground with a deck around it to accommodate depth needs. An additional two pools were also built as a place for athletes to warm up for the Olympic trials.
Despite the size of the pool and the complexity of the whole planning process, the “biggest challenge was trying to figure out what is traditionally a close-up spectator sport in a small natatorium and scaling it so that it works in a space of this size,” Dodd, the construction and design team leader, says.
As time goes on, USA Swimming is rapidly developing and expanding its space and equipment to accommodate the seemingly ever-growing fanbase. USA Swimming aims to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for athletes and participants alike, and the ultimate test will take place in a week. Will they hold up to the challenge?