New pool in Field House explored by D200 committee

The District 200 Pool Evaluation Committee Monday explored the possibility of building a new pool within the Field House, an option that was briefly considered by an earlier pool committee but discarded.

A new Olympic-sized pool, which is preferred by swim program stakeholders, would go in the southeast corner of the Field House, replacing the current east pool. A preliminary sketch of the area includes bleacher seating and the possibility of a large third-floor gym area. Gym space is also available behind the bleachers, which could be collapsible to maximize that space.

Officials from Legat Architects presented the designs, which did not include any estimated costs. Committee Chair Jeff Weissglass said the committee and Legat will get into costs for all of the site locations at its Nov. 17 meeting, and that Monday’s meeting was just to flesh out the conceptual designs for the Field House site.  

A previous pool committee, which included D200 administrators and board members, initially considered the Field House when that group met in 2012. After preliminary discussions, it was concluded at the time that building in that space would greatly disrupt the school, likely cost more to construct versus building elsewhere on the campus, and posed some logistical challenges to fit the desired-size pool.   

Weissglass noted that the current pool committee wanted to delve deeper into the details of the Field House option.

One glaring problem with building in the Field House is that the large, 11-lane Olympic-size pool would not fit in that space, but one with fewer lanes could. 

John Stelzer, athletic director for Oak Park and River Forest High School and a member of the current committee, said a larger pool would better serve the school’s needs. It would allow for more students to use the pool for physical ed classes and swim practice. Increased enrollment expected in the next couple of years would put a further strain on  P.E. with the smaller pool, Stelzer said.

 Stelzer, and Clay Reagan, division chair for the P.E. department, also noted that building a pool alone would not solve the department’s space needs.

Stelzer stressed that if a new pool is built in the southeast corner, a plan for the west pool must also be in place.

“If we’re going to look at this seriously, we would have to seriously look at what are you doing to the west pool also at the same time as this? I don’t think that can be a separate discussion,” Stelzer said, with some committee members agreeing. 

Stelzer added, “And if you can gain space there (east pool) or redo things there on that west side of the building at the same time, then this all makes much more sense.”

Building a pool in that southeast corner would require reconfiguring surrounding areas of the Field House, said Legat’s Rob Wroble and Patrick Brosnan. A second-floor weight room above the current east pool would need to be relocated, as well as the locker rooms for girls who traditionally use the east pool; the boys use the west pool on the other side of the Field House. 

Stelzer noted that building a new pool facility off-site would greatly open up space in the west and south corners of the building, adding that he can support any design option that gives the school a new pool, as well as more PE, storage and office space.

Weissglass noted that the current committee was established, in part, to give other board members a chance to offer their own site locations. Ralph Lee, who’s among the 15 –member committee, offered up his idea to build an eight-lane stretch pool in the southeast corner. Such a pool, Lee insisted, would work for the school.

“It has already been stated by the committee that looked at this in the first place that an eight-lane stretch pool would meet our competition and physical education needs. It would not meet the need for Olympic swim practice. It would not meet the needs for the prestige of having an Olympic pool, but it would meet the school’s needs,” Lee said.

In response, committee member Steve Schuler urged the committee to take a long term view with respect to a new pool.

“One of the things we talked about in the first meeting as a committee is thinking really long-term; thinking about what is the long term needs? Not just what can we get but what we want to achieve from a long-term perspective, that having an Olympic-sized pool makes sense…I’m just trying to push, personally, the committee to think from a long-term perspective,” Schuler said.

Lee, in response, said, “And I’m pushing back when it comes to meeting our needs with an Olympic pool.”

Weissglass said the committee will explore Lee’s suggestion and the other site locations in more depth at upcoming meetings.

The committee’s next sessions are Nov. 17, Dec. 1 and 8 (if necessary).