Orlando, Mesa Added as 2013 Grand Prix Hosts

The 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix schedule is at least in part nailed down, and there will be two new hosts in the lineup: Mesa, Arizona and Orlando, Florida.

The Mesa stop will be hosted in suburban Phoenix at the new $8.4 million Skyline Aquatics Center. The series returns to Phoenix for the first time since 1997, when the Phoenix Swim Club hosted a stop (though it was a much different animal then). The open air center has covered seating for 1,200 running along one side of the pool, with 6 lanes of 25 yard warmup space. This will add a second open-air stop to the lineup, as the Santa Clara Grand Prix remains on the schedule.

The most notable feature of this list (though absent a March meet – so perhaps more to be revealed) is that it’s all warm-weather cities so far. There is only a single locale north of the Mason-Dixon line in Minneapolis, with neither Indianapolis nor Columbus appearing on this year’s schedule.

There will also be a new stop in Orlando, leaving the confirmed schedule at:

November 9th-11th, 2012 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Minneapolis, MN – SC
January 18-20, 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Austin, TX – LC
February 15-17, 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Orlando, FL– LC
April 18-20, 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Mesa, AZ – LC
May 9-12, 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Charlotte, NC – LC
May 30-June 2, 2013 USA Swimming Grand Prix, Santa Clara, CA – LC