The new building will replace the Smith Swim Center, which closed for good in February because of irreversible deterioration in the structures that support the facility's roof.
The as-yet-unnamed permanent facility will be opened during the summer of 2010 and will cost an estimated $35-million, the University said in a statement. It will be constructed on the site of the current Smith Swim Center and will be designed and constructed in conjunction with the ongoing Nelson Fitness Center project.
Under the new plan, the University will build a temporary training facility to allow aquatics athletes to continue to train on campus while a permanent facility is under construction.
Russell Carey '91 MA'06, interim vice president for campus life and student services, said the Corporation's decision to build a new swimming and diving pool is an "exciting step" that "indicates the support for an on-campus pool for both athletic and community use."
Carey said the temporary facility will be a 25 meter pool without spectator seating. The facility will not have the capacity to host home meets for Brown aquatics teams over the next three years.
The University's goal, Carey said, is to have the temporary facility open by the beginning of 2008, though the opening date depends on when the city of Providence approves specific elements of the project.
"There are various municipal approvals in terms of building permits and the institutional master plan that we have to go through," Carey said. He said the University has a "close working relationship with the city" and anticipates an expeditious approval of the project.
Carey described the temporary facility as a "pre-fabricated, above-ground facility" made of steel, but he did not have any further details about the estimated cost for the training pool.
Carey said University officials felt forcing aquatics athletes to commute for training would have created an unreasonable burden on their academics. During the spring semester, the women's water polo team was often forced to commute to Providence College or to Massachusetts in order to practice.
"We wanted to allow our students to train on campus," Carey said. "The situation this spring was not ideal."
Director of Swimming and Aquatics Peter Brown said the response from his athletes to the plan has been "very positive."
Brown said there are still a few details that will need to be ironed out, but said he felt that the University did a very good job managing a unique situation.
"The aquatics community as a whole is very appreciative of the Corporation's decisions," Brown said.
Even though the temporary facility will not allow for any home competitions, Brown said it was "asking too much" to expect the University to build a temporary facility that could host home meets.
Brown said the main priority was to allow student-athletes to maintain a normal training schedule so that their academic schedule would not be disrupted.
Brown also said the plan ensures the future health of Brown aquatics and averts a scenario that would have hampered Brown's aquatics program.
Prior to the Corporation's decision, many aquatics athletes and their parents expressed concern about the future of Brown's programs in the absence of a swimming pool.
Brown said he has been in touch with matriculating freshman and recruits about the situation and said that "everyone is on board with what Brown is planning to do."
