Construction on U.S. Olympic Trials Pool Begins Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium (2024)

Construction is slated to begin Sunday on the U.S. Olympic Trials pool inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Myrtha Pools will only have about a month to build the temporary pool before the event starts on June 15. It will be the first time that the U.S. Olympic Trials will be held in an NFL stadium, with the last four Trials taking place at the CHI Health Center, a basketball arena in Omaha, Nebraska. Lucas Oil Stadium is more than double the capacity of the CHI Health Center, seating about 30,000 fans vs. 14,000 at previous editions.

“This is the biggest venue that a pool has ever been inside of,” Myrtha Pools director of technical services John Ireland said. “There are some very unique challenges associated with that and a lot more moving parts than we’re used to.”

Some seats inside Lucas Oil Stadium will be removed to make space for three 3-meter pools on the existing field. The main competition pool will be 10 lanes wide on the south side of the stadium while two warmup pools will hide behind a heavy tarp on the other half. Once the pools and pool decks are constructed, firetrucks will help pump more than 860,000 gallons of water into the three pools.

“It is intimidating,” Ireland said. “We’re doing something that typically takes six to nine months in just a few weeks.”

The seven-figure cost of the pool installation and teardown will reportedly be split between USA Swimming and the Indiana Sports Corp. According to Indiana Sports Corp, the nine-day meet will result in more than $100 million of economic impact for the city.

Indiana high school swimmers will test the pools before they’re deemed fit for competition. In particular, organizers will be watching for the timing system, pool temperature, and any signs of a current in the main competition pool.

The pools will take a couple days to drain before being removed within a week of U.S. Olympic Trials ending on June 23. A non-profit group affiliated with the Fort Wayne Swim Team will purchase the Lucas Oil Stadium pool after the event and transport it to Fort Wayne.

“Indianapolis has sixteen 50-meter pools, we have just one in Fort Wayne,” Fort Wayne Swim Team coach Ben Sutton said. “We desperately need some more water space and lane space. We’re lane locked with our swim team.”

Check out videos below from past U.S. Olympic Trials pool setups:

2021 U.S. Olympic Trials