The Queensland Government announced that the nation of Australia will see a new National Aquatic Centre (NAC) built in Spring Hill to host aquatic events for the 2032 Olympic Games.
The NAC will see Centenary Pool in Spring Hill upgraded and complemented by a new main and secondary stadium featuring two large indoor pools that would act as a national base to host the four peak aquatic sports – swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming.
This development is a deviation from the original plan of constructing a temporary pool to host the events in Brisbane. However, as we reported in January, the heads of Swimming Australia, Diving Australia, Water Polo Australia, and Artistic Swimming Australia submitted a proposal to the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority petitioning for a permanent pool that could be utilized well after the Games were over.
Per Swimming Australia’s release, the new NAC will include the following:
- three new pools, including two large indoor pools (50m and 65m) that would act as a national base to support multiple aquatic sports;
- one indoor dive tower;
- one new outdoor pool with functionality to support multiple aquatic sports;
- one 27m outdoor tower for both diving and high diving;
- separate high performance and community gyms and amenities including a dedicated diving dry land;
- administration and retail spaces;
- sports medicine treatment rooms;
- permanent seating capacity of 8,800 and more than 25,000 in Games mode
Swimming Australia CEO Rob Woodhouse said, “Today we celebrate the most significant investment ever in aquatic sports in Australia. As well as the critically important community and health benefits for all Australians, the NAC will set our aquatic sports up for ongoing success for the next 50 years beyond the 2032 Games.”
“Our magnificent Paralympians and Olympians will inspire us all through their achievements at the NAC in 2032 and for decades after. Thank you to the Queensland Government for understanding the real legacy the NAC will provide for all Australians.
“The national aquatic sports will work hard with the appointed experts to ensure that the NAC will truly deliver both for the community and across all levels of our sports, from learning to swim to high performance.”
Olympic champion Cam McEvoy stated, “The NAC is a venue that will ignite the Olympic and Paralympic flame for the next generation of athletes.”
“As a six-year-old I stood on the blocks at Sydney Olympic Park and realised there was so much more to swimming than just my own local pool. I watched the Olympics on TV, but that was nothing compared to when I set foot inside the actual venue that held the Games. It became much more real than a TV screen. That’s what I’m excited about with the National Aquatics Centre – all of the dreams it will ignite.
“Not only that but it will be a venue that has the capacity to produce those dreams as it will be decked out in state of the art high performance technology for each sport to use and train alongside each other.
“I can’t think of any other place to have something like this than in South-East Queensland. If South-East Queensland was a country we would have finished equal third on the swimming medal tally at the Paris Olympic Games. The NAC only stands to solidify this level of achievement for future generations to come!”
Brisbane 2032 is actually going to be held in the 65m Extra Long Course Metres (ELCM) pool. Kaylee ran out of backstroke records to break so they made some new ones
So 65m tank sounds to me like swimming and diving will be conducting in the same body of water, with either the starting block or the turn end of the course being a bulkhead. This does not seem like it’s appropriate for international competition. Am I maybe just reading this wrong?
Good news
Why 65 meters?
And by 2042 it’ll sit empty
Ah yes just like the aquatic centre from the Sydney games which is never used for anything 🙄
It’s at the centenary pool which is in the inner city and always packed full of people
Sorry I’m from neither AUS or USA but can’t resist this… will there be cowbell soundproofing?… Oh, and did you Aussies send a drummer boy to Women’s NCAA’s to make a point?
This is great for Aussie swimming and seems to demonstrate that country’s commitment to the sport. Australia and Hungary appear to be two examples of countries that culturally embrace swimming and aquatics in general. Not sure what impact the current success in the pool has had on this but it doesn’t really matter (chicken or the egg). Good for them to reverse course on a temporary pool plan and build something that will last and inspire, support and develop the next generations of swimmers.
It’s a pity that other countries such as the UK and Canada don’t create this type of environment. Given the paucity of 50M pools in both countries, seems like an opportunity to build them where the… Read more »
Looking forward to it!