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  • International Swimming Hall of Fame Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center

Ft. Lauderdale Aquatic Center

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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Fort Lauderdale has long retained its title as a leader among aquatic destinations. Since opening the first Olympic size swimming pool in the state of Florida in 1928 followed by the Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965, the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center has been the honorable host of hundreds of national and international events and has witnessed the creation of ten world records. However, after over 50 years of serving the community, the city made the decision to renovate the facility to ensure that Fort Lauderdale remains a destination for world-class aquatic events and serves as the best home for the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) and museum.

A World-Class Facility

The Center has now been restored to its former glory and is now the home to the first precast concrete dive tower in the world, which combines springboard, platform, and high diving and further cements Fort Lauderdale in aquatic facility history.

In August 2018, Counsilman-Hunsaker, Hensel Phelps Construction Company, Cartaya & Associates Architects, Gate Precast, Weller Pools, Keith & Associates, Langan, WSP, HyPower Inc, Econstruct, Southeast Precast Erectors and Right Way Plumbing Company were chosen as the design-build team to begin preparing construction documents for a redesigned aquatic sports venue. The facility broke ground in April 2019 and was completed and reopened to the public in September 2022.

The newly renovated facility includes two new pools and a spa, in addition to the existing 50-meter training pool. The new pools include a 50-meter competition pool with two six-foot wide bulkheads and a 25-meter dive pool with a 27-meter dive tower, the first of its kind in the western hemisphere. The competition and dive pool were designed to be FINA-compliant, allowing it to host large international competitions.

The current 50-meter pool, used for training purposes, was fully renovated. Additionally, a new spa was built, offering support to athletes using the diving tower. A new mechanical building houses new filtration systems, pumps, and chlorination systems that serve each pool, with over 2.6 million gallons flowing through. A grandstand was built on top of the mechanical building, allowing seating for over 1,500 spectators. Two additional buildings were built to support the aquatic center which include bathrooms for spectators, locker rooms for athletes as well as additional support spaces required to host international level events.

Additional renovations included:

  • Raised pool deck level elevation to allow for increased pool depths for competition-level use. New pool deck surface throughout.
  • Removed existing grandstand building and bleachers on north side of facility and provided new mechanical building with grandstand with metal bleachers allowing for over 1,500 spectators. New spectator restrooms, concessions, ticket office building including large outdoor rooftop terrace overlooking the dive pool.
  • Removed existing south building housing locker rooms and pool offices and replaced with new locker room building that also houses support spaces required to host international level competitions.
  • Provided site improvements that included parking and drainage enhancements, new stadium lighting, landscaping, sidewalks, and new main entry plaza.

Visit Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center

Visit the International Swimming Hall of Fame

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Honor Award

American Institute of Architects

November 2022

2023 PCI Design Award: Custom Solutions for Buildings

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI)

February 2023

Pool Type

Outdoor 50 Meter

Outdoor 25 Yard

Diving Pool

Training Facility

Project Type

Parks and Recreation

Training Facility

Project Service

Design Services

Renovation

Most Recent Project

Completed 2022

Architect

Cartaya Associates

Project Amenities

The redevelopment of the aquatics complex includes:

14,500 sq. ft. Competition Pool

FINA-compliant pool for swimming, water polo and synchronized swimming competitions

Ten 50-meter lap lanes

25-meter wide

Two 6-foot wide bulkheads

New mechanical systems

6,700 sq. ft. Dive Pool

FINA-compliant pool for diving competitions

Precast diving tower

Nine 25-meter lap lanes

Stair entry

Diving Tower

The 27-meter dive tower includes nine platform levels and combines three sporting events: springboard diving (1-meter, 3-meter), platform diving (1-meter, 3-meter, 5-meter, 7.5 and 10-meter) and high diving (15-meter, 20-meter, 24-meter, and 27-meter).

The tower is constructed of 96 precast concrete panels and rests on a foundation 5-feet deep and 53-feet wide, supported by 35 auger cast piles at a depth of 60-feet.

There are 162 stairs to the top of the tower.

12,400 sq. ft. Refurbished Training Pool

Ten 50-meter lap lanes

Eighteen 25-yard cross course lap lanes

New gutter system

New pool finishes

New mechanical systems

1,000 sq. ft. Teaching Pool

New mechanical systems

Stair entry

150 sq. ft. Dive Spa

Stair entry

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