The swimming pool at the downtown Des Moines YMCA started filling with water this week and is expected to be open by March for swimmers and recreation. Rodney White/The Register
Water has started flowing at the Wellmark YMCA pool in downtown Des Moines.
It will take about a week to fill and treat the more than 1 million gallons of water needed for the Olympic-sized pool and a smaller program pool. Both will open to swimmers in March.
Monday's ceremonial first few gallons was a major milestone in a project stymied by funding problems that delayed construction.
"We are thrilled to bring water back to the downtown area through the YMCA and for our members," said Frankie Hanson, director of aquatic operations, from the pool deck on Monday where the final touches of construction were ongoing. "It's going to help round out the aquatics offerings that we had at the Riverfront Y."
The Wellmark YMCA opened in early 2015 after a land-swap deal moved the Y from its longtime spot along the Des Moines River into the former Polk County Convention Complex, located at 501 Grand Ave.
An attached building housing the pair of pools was supposed to open months later, but the YMCA failed to secure tax credits and raise the money needed to start the project.
The delays frustrated major donors, who began to publicly criticize then-YMCA President and CEO Vernon Delpesce. He resigned in 2016, and the YMCA hired Dave Schwartz as his replacement.
The YMCA reached its $10 million goal in September 2016 with a funding package that included grants, land sales and increased commitments from donors.
Construction began about two months later.
Once open, it will be the only indoor Olympic-sized pool — 50 meters long by 25 yards wide — in the Des Moines metro and one of just three in the state. The Y hopes to attract state and regional swim competitions and other events such as water polo and synchronized swimming.
The smaller program pool is a four-lane, 25-yard pool that will be used for swim lessons and group fitness classes.
The pools' targeted opening date coincides with the March 21 opening of Des Moines' convention center hotel, the Hilton Des Moines Downtown. That, along with downtown's other hotels, restaurants and nightlife, bolsters the YMCA's chances of attracting those events, Schwartz said.
"It's a great time to be in downtown Des Moines," he said. "And we're the only (Olympic-sized pool) with all of this around us."
An official opening date has not yet been announced. The YMCA is still hiring pool staff. The organization also is looking to lease an open space on the east side of the pool for a cafe and restaurant.
By the numbers:
1 million: Gallons it will take to fill the main Olympic-sized pool and the second program pool.
1,500: The seating capacity for spectators who can watch events from the pool's stadium seating and deck space.
700: Regular swimmers at all of the YMCA's metro branches.
105: Hours per week the pool will be open.
40: Water spouts lining the bottom of the pool.
30: Employees who will staff the pool, including lifeguards and instructors for swim lessons and group fitness. (They're still hiring for these positions.)
19: Lanes when configured as a 25-yard pool.
14: Months it took to construct the pool.
8: Lanes when configured as a 50-meter pool.
3: Days it will take to install the electronic scoreboard.
2: New locker rooms that will serve the YMCA's boys' and girls' swim teams. (Y members will continue to use the existing locker rooms.)