After having been in discussions for over two years, a new high school pool is coming to the Chicago area. As a follow-up to our ‘In Briefs’ story from April, on Thursday, October 15th, the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education approved the funding of a new 11-lane, 50m pool to be built from the ground up for use by the Oak Park and River Forest HS students and surrounding communities.
The approved plans include a brand new two-story aquatics facility occupying approximately 49,800 square feet. The new pool will replace the high school’s two current pools, which are each over 90 years old and in desperate need of repairs. Simply due to age and usage, the current pools are considered obsolete in terms of safety standards and air quality. Renovating the existing pools would involve a cost of $19 million and ultimately result in a severe reduction in pool capacity, thus the board opted for the route of new construction.
The project, estimated to cost approximately $37 million, will be funded from up to $20 million from the district’s cash reserves and up to $17.5 million in non-referendum bonds. The bonds will add $76 per year in taxes to a home valued at $400,000, according to the district’s release. As part of the project and included in the budget is the $2.6 million purchase price tag to demolish an existing parking garage to make room for the new aquatics center. Subsequently, the district is working with the village of Oak Park on the ongoing parking plan.
Construction on the new pool is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2016, with the goal of being completed in time for the 2018-19 school year.
The Oak Park River Forest High School girls won the Illinois State High School State championship back in 1988-89 and 1989-90, while the boys were state champions for the 1997-98 season.
The IHSA has no “3 side seating” rule for hosting the state meet. Total myth propagated because New Trier and Evanston have 3 sided seating. The meet has been hosted in pools that are seating sides challenged…like the New Trier West High School pool. The pool would need seating with at least the same number as NT and E-town preferably with view of the race course. Oh, and the folks in charge need to have the desire to host the meet. There have been a lot of new pools built in Illinois high schools recently. Many specifically so they couldn’t, that’s COULD NOT, host the state meet. No guts, no glory. It’s just easier to complain.
BaldingEagle’s comment is the closest to being accurate. The IHSA’s requirement is seating for 1200. Three-sided seating isn’t necessarily important.
However – the point everyone is missing is that for the State Final to be moved anywhere else, a facility must first WANT to host the meet and make a formal bid to do so. For the last 60+ years, nobody other than Evanstan and New Trier has done so. You can’t make someone host a meet if they don’t want to.
There are also other infrastructure requirements (parking, proximity of hotel rooms/restaurants, security, crowd handling, etc.) that nobody else has been able to adequately answer, either.
The IHSA also recently committed to helping Evanston Township HS financially… Read more »
knowing Oak Park this will go about $100 million over budget and there will be some weird issue with it. don’t get your hopes up
I just have to say, @LOL you were right. They are still arguing about this pool. I would love for them to figure it out.
As someone familiar with the new plans, I do not believe that there will be three sides unfortunately. However, there will be a comparable number of seats, I believe, to New Trier and Evanston if that helps.
I can’t wait to see the design and plans for this. Maybe the IHSA meet will be moved into an actual pool suitable for competition use?
Let’s just pray it has the coveted 3-side seating that they require…or maybe they get rid of that requirement all together please? I would love to see how much Illinois HS swimming could thrive at the championship level if the facilities enabled top-notch performances (you know, like having actual deck space or a warm down pool that is there both years instead of only one of the two).
When I loved in Chicago, I went to see the state meets a few times. Crazy atmosphere. I heard about this supposed “three-sided” rule, but I think it’s probably a myth. The only reason it’s held at the selected pools is because of seating capacity: those two pools have the highest in the state. Yes, that’s right: a state like Illinois has only two pools with sufficient seating capacity to hold the championship meets. Unfortunately, these pools are shallow at one end and have 6 lanes.
I can’t imagine that if a pool like some of those new ones in Texas or Indiana were built that had seating for 1200+, but only had seating on one side or maybe… Read more »