The Santa Clara City Council has approved a project that would build a $185 million swimming and recreation center that would also house the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The new facility would go up on the site of the current Santa Clara International Swim Center. That facility hosts the annual Arena Pro Swim Series at Santa Clara, but was also built in 1968 and is due for an upgrade, according to the Silicon Valley Aquatics Initiative, whose executive director spoke to NBC Bay Area about the proposal.
If it moves forward, the new facility would include an “aquatics stadium,” a community recreation center, a gym and a massive parking garage, according to the NBC report.
The center would also house the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which left the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida last year and moved to Santa Clara.
The biggest current barrier to the project moving forward is cost. Estimated at $185 million, there isn’t a set plan yet on where the funding will come from. City leaders will meet next month to go over financials, according to NBC.
The plan itself is still open to being amended in some details as well. The principal of a local school was concerned about a parking garage being put in so close to the school playground, and some expressed concern that the garage wouldn’t have enough space to serve the facility.
