By: Shawn  Wang

Imagine walking into an NFL stadium, expecting to see a green football field with a scent of freshly cut grass in the air, but instead seeing in front of you a shimmering blue pool with a faint scent of chlorine in the air. This unique and ambitious transformation is what happened at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Back in 2018, local businessman Scott Davison and USA Swimming CEO Tim Hitchey laid the groundwork for this ambitious plan. When this plan was brought to the Indiana Sports Corporation and the operators of Lucas Oil Stadium, they were met with enthusiasm. “We’re taking a swing,” said Tim Hitchey. “We’re seizing the opportunity to amplify our sport.”

A few weeks ago, a fire hydrant on Capital Avenue was cranked open, which sent a million gallons of water into the Lucas Oil Stadium pipes, filling up the warmup and warm down pools. Everything else has also been wrapped up. They’ve built it.

After the reconstruction, the stadium will have 30,000 seats, with an estimated maximum capacity of 16,000, and the event will take place over nine and a half days. The pool is the same length—50 meters in length with 10 lanes—but everything surrounding it is much larger. This project has broken the record for the biggest stage for a swim meet in history.

Lucas Oil Stadium has a history of being an ideal location for grand experiments. This time, the transformation of the football stadium into an Olympic stadium represents a fusion of sports between swimming and football. This project has elevated USA swimming as a sport to a new level, and we can expect the sport to reach even higher levels in the future.

Scources:
https://www.si.com/olympics/colts-nfl-stadium-transformed-into-a-swimming-pool-for-us-olympic-trials
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5538777/2024/06/04/lucas-oil-stadium-pool-swimming-olympic-trials/?source=nyt_sports