‘Ripple effect’: New Boise swimming pool promoted as educational force, economic magnet

Idaho’s only Olympic-level swimming pool. National competitions. A one-stop shop for lessons on all things aquatics, from swim lessons and lifeguard training to kayaking and even scuba diving.

Access to all of those activities officially opened to the public Thursday afternoon at the Idaho Central Aquatics Center, Boise’s newest swimming facility.

Shouts, splashes and whistles echoed through the cavernous structure Thursday as the Boise Swim Club and Treasure Valley Water Polo Club held practice in different segments of the center’s 50-meter competition pool, designed to meet the highest standards of swimming’s international governing body. Kids took swim lessons in a warm-up pool next to it. Parents and spectators watched from rows of red bleachers.

The pool’s grand opening was a preview of the activities the organizers of the facility say will make it an economic powerhouse and community resource. Its founders expect the facility to draw millions of dollars in revenue to the community by hosting athletes from across the region and around the country for swim competitions. At the same time, they said, it will provide swimming lessons for people of all ages, programs for aquatic activities and new space for local swim teams, filling an unmet need for pool access and water safety education in the Treasure Valley.

The indoor complex includes the competition pool, a 25-yard warm-up pool, locker rooms, concessions and shower facilities. A row of 11 garage doors on the north side of the 50,000 square-foot building open to what will eventually be a grass lawn, and two more doors open on the east side. The center will operate year-round.

“When you start to look at all the offerings that this pool can add, it has this ripple effect within the community,” said Kristin Muchow, Greater Boise Auditorium District chairwoman, in an interview with the Statesman at the opening.

Need for pool space, lessons drove public investment

The center’s founders — Ryan Stratton, a former swimmer for the University of Washington; Melanie Rubocki, managing partner for the Boise office of Perkins Coie; and Jeff Erwin, a former member of the U.S. national swim team — approached the auditorium district’s board in November 2020 with their proposal for the facility. Muchow said the board knew right away they were the right group to partner with after seeing the team’s projections for financial impact and their connections to USA Swimming.

The district approved $5 million in funding to build the center in June 2021 after the organizers narrowed in on its location at 3575 S. Findley Avenue, near the Fred Meyer on Federal Way in East Boise. When skyrocketing construction costs from the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the total project cost from $14 million to $18.9 million, Stratton said, the district ultimately agreed to pitch in $9.6 million in total. The rest of the funding was gathered through private donations and financing with Idaho Central Credit Union, he said.

The center is owned by the auditorium district. Idaho Competitive Aquatics, the founders’ business, leases and operates it. The auditorium district is funded through a 5% room tax on lodging.

A severe lack of pool space in the Treasure Valley, coupled with statistics that show drowning is a leading cause of death for kids, showed there was a need for more access to educational programs like those the pool facility will offer, Muchow said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more children ages 1-4 die from drowning than any other cause, and it’s the second-leading cause of death for children ages 5-14 nationwide.

Teaching kids to swim is the top value of the aquatics center for its day-to-day use, Stratton told the Statesman. There are 800 people of all ages registered for swim lessons at the facility, Stratton said, and more on a wait list.

“There really was a pent-up demand,” Stratton said. “And we’re already starting to fill that void.”

Jeanne Bailey, who’s living in southwest Boise for the summer, said she’s been impressed with the pace and quality of swim lessons her sons, Kallan and Peyton, have received at the aquatics center. She appreciated that the instructors emphasized water safety before teaching types of strokes, she said, and tailored the swim lessons to each child’s level of knowledge.

But the Treasure Valley’s shortage of pool space doesn’t just show itself in scarce swim lessons. It also leaves local swim teams searching for lanes to practice in, Stratton said. The aquatics center plans to open more space for high school swim teams during their season by hosting swim meets every Saturday.

Parents of the Boise Swim Club team, who were watching practice Thursday, said they were happy to have all their practices in one place and impressed with the pool size and quality.

One of those parents was Tiffany Brown, a resident of southwest Boise, whose daughter, Wenny, and sons, Jacek and Rafe, compete on the swim team. Before the team moved its practices to the aquatics center at the beginning of the month, Brown said, her kids bounced around to many different pools, including the West Boise YMCA, the Natatorium and a pool in Meridian.

Brown also said the ability to train on long and short courses, which the competition pool at the center allows, is helpful for swimmers. Cary Fong, a Meridian resident whose son, Braydon, competes on the team, said it’s a big deal for her son to be able to train on long courses.

Boise’s newest pool complex is open to the public

The pool is plenty big for other activities as well — activities for anyone, Stratton emphasized. Day passes and memberships are available on the facility’s website ($7 per day for an individual, $15 per day for a family, $650 for an annual pass, for example). Lap swim and aquatic fitness class schedules are posted online as well. The aquatics center will eventually offer instruction on scuba diving, fly fishing and kayaking. “Anything you can do in a body of water,” Stratton said

And big plans are already on the horizon to open the competition pool to swimmers far and wide — plans that weren’t possible in the state without a pool of the aquatics center’s caliber.

In July, USA Swimming will host its Speedo Sectionals swim meet at the facility, followed by its Western Age Group Zone Championships meet in August. Each is expected to draw close to 1,000 people from out of town, including athletes, coaches and parents, Stratton said, who could be renting cars, booking hotels and dining out at nearby restaurants.

The aquatics center asked Visit Boise to crunch the tourism numbers on those two competitions. The economic benefit was estimated at $1.7 million, Stratton said.

Boise and Bishop Kelly high schools are organizing an invitational meet there for Idaho high schools, and more major swimming events are lined up for 2024 and 2025, he said.

Attracting visitors from out of town is an important advantage of the facility for the Greater Boise Auditorium District, Muchow said, because the district is fueled by tourism dollars and benefits local business.

“We’re gonna be excited to see how these large swim meets happen in July and August and prove that we can do what we set out to do,” Stratton said.