Division III Occidental College has announced that they will be breaking ground on a new aquatics facility this summer.
Occidental’s current pool is one of the oldest in the country at 87 years old, and with only six lanes is a less than ideal space to accommodate both their swimming and water polo teams. But this new facility, named the Townsend Crosthwaite Pool, means many more opportunities for the varsity water polo and swimming programs and a resurrection for the diving program.
The plans for their new facilities will be a huge step up for the aquatics programs, with the $17.5 million project slated to have eight competition lanes, fifteen practice lanes, a 34-meter water polo venue, and a 13 foot dive well with two 1-meter and 3-meter boards. There will also be a recreation pool attached to the facility and seating for more than 300 spectators. The project will also include two new tennis courts that will attach to their existing tennis center.
“It will make us more competitive in every way,” Jack Stabenfeldt, the head water polo coach at Occidental, said in an interview featured in the college’s online magazine. Steve Webb, the first year swimming head coach, agrees, saying this will eliminate the need to practice in shifts and allow workouts to be more individualized and easier to accommodate with swimmers spread across more lanes.
The current facility will remain in use until the new facility is finished, when it will be filled in and converted to multi-use outdoor space.