How to create an award-winning outdoor aquatic center
By Casey Wooddell
On June 15, 2019, the gates opened to a new, outdoor aquatic center in Oxford, Ohio. The city had been discussing, studying, planning, and preparing for it since 2005. It was a rather slow process, but about eight years of that time was due to the recession that began in 2008. Those years were valuable though. They gave the city and community more time to reflect on how to provide the perfect facility for the city and surrounding areas. They provided time to update the design, re-evaluate the budget, and visit other facilities. The final product was an award-winning outdoor facility—featured throughout the region in various outlets—and was published in a national magazine. The facility was large enough to serve a variety of cities in multiple states, yet small enough to be a “community pool.”