The William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California is one of the crowned jewels of the American swimming empire – and it’s getting a $42 million upgrade.
The City of Irvine has begun work for an expansion that is expected to take until Spring 2028 to complete. The project was first hinted at in 2023, but took until now to move forward.
The expansion adds a fourth pool, which is also a third 50-meter pool, to the complex, making it one of the largest aquatics complexes in the country and capable of hosting meets of immense scale. It will also add covered bleachers to the facility that hosts a number of major meets, including the 2026 US National Championships, the 2026 US Junior National Championships, and the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships.
The pool also plays home to Irvine Novaquatics, one of the largest and most successful swimming programs in the United States. Among the club’s alumni are Olympians Amanda Beard, Aaron Peirsol, Jason Lezak, Milorad Cavic, Jessica Hardy, Lenny Krayzelburg, Gabi Rose, Gabe Woodward, Colleen Lane, and John Mykkanen.
The pool is also expected to host several countries for pre-Olympic staging camps ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Other upgrades not geared specifically toward competitive swimmers include a new training and locker room building, a pool equipment building, utility upgrades, a splash pad, more parking, and a NinjaCross obstacle course suspended over the water to expand the facility’s fitness offerings.
“(Irvine) is becoming a real leader in drowning prevention initiatives,” Mayor Larry Agran said of the project. “This fourth pool really allows us to dramatically expand our swim lesson opportunities, reduce our waitlist to zero (and) make sure every kid in our city is an accomplished swimmer, or at least trained sufficiently to help us prevent future drownings.”
The city’s Learn to Swim program serves more than 10,000 local children every year.
The project isn’t expected to create any additional traffic in the area and, crucially, won’t require shutting down any of the existing facilities while construction is underway.
The city does expect usage fees to cover the costs of the expansion.
The city has explored opening a second aquatics center at Great Park with estimates ranging from $80 million to $250 million. That facility is slated to serve as the home of the USA Water Polo National Teams, but that project fell through. It keeps coming up again, though, and last year, city leaders explored reviving and moving that project up as a way to provide increased access to its citizens more so than a facility focused on elite aquatics.
