By Fox23.com News Staff
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow Public Schools broke ground on its new aquatics center on Tuesday.
“Today is the groundbreaking for our aquatics center,” shared Dustin Smith, the Executive Director of Athletics at BAPS. “We’re excited because this has been a dream in the making since 2015 when the bond passed, so today becomes the visible reality for our student athletes, our coaches, our community to see a pool come to life.”
Smith said it’ll be a huge benefit for the swim team to have their own space where they can practice.
“We’ve been kind of nomads for a little bit. We’ve traveled. We were at the Y here, Boys and Girls Club, here in Broken Arrow. Last year, we went to Lifetime. This will be an exciting time for them to actually have a home for them that’s not somewhere that we’re a guest at…They can make a residence and make it their home.”
The new aquatics center will feature a 25-meter pool and a warmup pool for swimmers to use.
“We can use it not just for our swimmers, but for swimming community for the public to be able to use. It’ll be a facility that will benefit not just our swim program, but the community as a whole as well as our school district.”
Smith said he’s excited for everyone to be able to experience the new space.
“I just can’t emphasize enough how excited I am for our kids, for our swim program and even those kids that don’t even know that they’re swimming for BA yet. This is something that’s not just for the now. It’s for the future.”
Smith said the facility is expected to be completed in Oct. 2027.
