On Tuesday, the Fort Wayne Swim and Wellness Alliance, Inc. listed the 2024 Olympic Swimming Trials pool for sale after failing to secure the funding to give the pool a permanent home, placing it on an indefinite hold, and no longer being able to store the pool itself.
Despite initially unveiling a new $54 million plan in February 2025, and receiving initial funding from Indiana Tech, Parkview, and commitments from Northwest Allen County Schools (NACS) among other investors, NACS told Fort Wayne Swim that the project would need to be postponed until they could fix their own financial shortcomings.
In a report from 21 ALIVE News, John Gibson, the Natatorium/Aquatic Director at Northwest Allen County Schools, said he hopes to raise $1.5-$1.7 million by selling the pool and related memorabilia. Gibson also added that the nonprofit extended the pool loan multiple times, but the lender decided not to extend it further.
Fort Wayne Swim and Wellness Alliance, Inc., released the following statement regarding the pool:
We have come to the difficult decision to sell the 2024 Olympic Trials Pool. We had a vision for a new facility in Northeast Indiana that would support the needs of so many in our community, through swim lessons, training, physical therapy, competitions, and recreation. We got very close to that dream, and sadly, had this project happened 18 months earlier, we likely would have seen construction already underway. Unfortunately, through a combination of funding challenges and delays, we no longer see a viable option for keeping this pool.
We hope that this Olympic Trial pool can find a deserving home in a community that will bring a new facility to life. It is still the fastest pool ever assembled, so we want to see future Olympians training and competing in it somewhere. In the meantime, Fort Wayne Swim and Wellness will continue to push for better access to water safety, aqua therapy, and training opportunities for our community.
In a report from wane.com, the investments totaled around $48 million out of the $58 million, according to Gibson.
The Alliance Board, in an effort to raise the $1.2 million needed to keep the pool in the area, “struck out” in finding suitable partners. The Fort Wayne Swimming and Wellness Alliance, Inc., has officially listed the pool for sale.
Here is the listing from the alliance:
2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials Competition Pool – Now Available
The Fort Wayne Swim & Wellness Alliance is offering a rare and prestigious opportunity to acquire the official competition pool from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials—a world-class facility that helped define one of the most exciting chapters in modern swimming.
Pool Highlights:
- Competition Specs: 10 lanes × 50 meters
- Manufacturer: Myrtha Pools (Italy) – globally recognized leader in elite aquatic design
- Performance Proven: Site of multiple American and World Records—widely regarded as one of the fastest pools in the United States
- Authentic Equipment Included: Original starting blocks featuring USA and Olympic branding
- Condition & Storage: Professionally maintained and currently held in controlled storage in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Exceptional Value: Offered at significantly below current market replacement cost
This is more than a pool—it is a legacy asset. Ideal for municipalities, universities, training centers, and aquatic organizations seeking to elevate their programs with a proven, record-setting competition environment.
As usual local governments and communities are to blame for all of this. It is a joke 🤣🤣🤣 that the state of Indiana can not 🚫🚫🚫 find a permanent home for this amazing pool. That is the problem all over the world 🌎🌎🌎 we all need Olympic size pools. I am willing to pay the fees to an amazing aquatic centre. However, I am not 🚫🚫🚫 willing to pay outrageous fees at the YMCA for a kiddy pool little boys and girls 😜😜😜
So disappointing. This could have and would have been an amazing thing to have in Fort Wayne. The line of teams waiting to get their meets on the calendar would have been extensive.
Time to set up a permanent swimming Hub in the center of the US(maybe Indy). And, have one damn major Event per year that draws all of the major swimmers(from around the world). Verses having all these damn scattered “Opens” around the world that no one watches(and they never draw all the top swimmers to each). Should be no problem in creating a yearly event as popular as the Olympics(and, eventually much better). Why are we spending money on a pool teardown(every 4 years) when that money could be spent in developing a permanent facility. Spend the money on camera and graphic tech for epic at home viewing.
Time to set up a permanent swimming Hub in the center of the US(maybe Indy). And, have one damn major Event per year that draws all of the major swimmers(from around the world). Verses having all these damn scattered “Opens” around the world that no one watches(and they never draw all the top swimmers to each). Should be no problem in creating a yearly event as popular as the Olympics(and, eventually much better). Why are we spending money on a new pool every 4 years when that money could be spent in developing a permanent facility. Spend the money on camera and graphic tec for epic at home viewing.
I wonder, if everyone on SwimSwam contributed like $50 or so, could we buy the pool?
That would be like $250.
But seriously we could put it in my backyard. No running. No diving. No glass containers.
USA swimming should just buy it back for 2028 right? I’m sure its cheaper than a new one give the money saved to the athletes as a bonus.
I don’t trust a used pool that’s been sitting around for years to come without issues
I swim in the 2008 trials pool. The facility containing the pool didn’t open until 2012 and it was still in excellent condition at the time. It’s still in excellent condition now, 18 years later.
That would be too smart of them to do. Can’t help the athletes that much. 🤣
I think the economics are that you get to sell the “Olympic Trials pool” at a markup because of cache, so the more “Olympic Trials pools” you have to sell, the better. In other words: I would guess USA Swimming buys them for less than they sell them for (if they buy them at all – versus just getting to use them for free and then Myrtha gets to keep the money from the sale).
I would be curious what the lowest cost set up would be. Once you buy the pool for 1.5m, how much to set it up and run, in an economical ‘bubble’ type structure. Obviously just for training as you wouldn’t have the support infrastructure for large meets in the ‘bubble’.
All in, I am going to say $5-6 million to make this work (depending on location, some places even more) even as a practice only facility. Real estate, site prep, permits, construction, etc. Not to mention a bubble for a 10 lane 50M pool is going to be a pretty penny. With that being said, it would be madness to have this set up as practice only, and not being able to generate meet revenue. It would either have to be a municipality or one of the top 5 or so teams in the country that have really deep pockets.
Agree with you on the competition revenue. Once the municipality is involved the price 10x. It has to be colour coordinated, have an art installation, and community garden out back….. A Varsity program that could keep the Aesthetics low and functionality high would be the sweet spot.
Does the used 2024 Trials pool also come with the very same water from 2024? That’s where the real value lies!
that water is long gone … has probably emptied into the Gulf of Mexico/America.
Actually the pools are discounted 35-40% off full retail when sold to final client. They are loaned to USAS for the event by Myrtha and USAS pays for the labor to build them.
What’s the profit margin on a pool?
Got to be pretty high margin because Myrtha a pretty unique company and product…but one off Olympic type pools are small beans compared to some of the European leisure/fitness/waterpark mega facilities they do