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<\/p>\nWhen they landed the diving competition for the 2028 Summer Olympics last year, operators of the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena trumpeted it as a gold-medal achievement. But swimmers and others who use the facility are now learning that pre-Olympic construction probably will force them out of three immensely popular swimming pools for more than a year.<\/p>\n
The Aquatics Center will close as early as next April, and not be returned to its regular users until after the Olympics conclude in the summer of 2028, people with knowledge of the plans confirmed to The Times.<\/p>\n
Such a prolonged closure will send the more than 400,000 people who pour through the center\u2019s turnstiles each year scrambling to find other places to swim, dive, play water polo and aqua-aerobicize. The center\u2019s two 50-meter pools and an adjacent therapy pool will be closed, along with two expansive hot tubs, the people said.<\/p>\n
Aquatics Center operators declined to discuss details of the shutdown, saying they plan to make an announcement Monday. They said it\u2019s premature for them to discuss what improvements the Games will bring to the 36-year-old swim complex, as those negotiations have not been concluded.<\/p>\n
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The Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena, shown on Friday, is set to close next year to make way for reconstruction as the center will host diving in the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n
(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Jacie Prieto Lopez, vice president of communications for LA28, the Olympics organizing group, confirmed that improvements would be made to the facility but said specifics were still being sorted out. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot comment on specific facility improvements as those remain under active discussion between LA28 and the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center,\u201d Prieto Lopez said \u201cBut based on initial evaluations of the existing facility, improvements could include the pool, diving tower and mechanical systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opened in 1990, in part with profits from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the Aquatic Center was once viewed as a state-of-the-art facility. But it has grown somewhat shopworn and in need of a makeover. The operators of the center expect LA28 will pay for some of that work.<\/p>\n
While LA28 officials wouldn\u2019t discuss details, people familiar with their view said the Olympic organizers would balk at bankrolling every upgrade pined for by the city of Pasadena (which owns the facility) and the nonprofit that operates the center.<\/p>\n
The massive deck around the swimming pools has grown rough in places. The locker rooms are cramped. Aged pumps and filters need an upgrade. Who should pay for these improvements has been the subject of prolonged discussion between LA28 and the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center operators, the people familiar said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s going to be a win-win for LA28 and the Aquatics Center,\u201d said one of the people, who wasn\u2019t authorized to speak publicly. \u201cThe LA28 group is putting in a lot of investment. That should account for the fact the Rose Bowl will be losing revenue during the closure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aquatics Center loyalists, however, wonder how they will cope with the loss of their pools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pool helps me keep my weight down. It keeps my blood sugar down. It\u2019s just everything to me,\u201d said Elizabeth Ramirez, a social worker from Alhambra, after emerging from a morning aqua-aerobics class. \u201cSo when it closes down, it\u2019s gonna definitely have an impact on my health. \u2026 Hopefully they will be able to tell us [about] another place where we will be able to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynn Roberts, with one leg stunted by childhood polio, finds her time in the pool \u201clife changing, because in the water I can do the things that everyone else does.\u201d She knows that Rose Bowl is looking for alternative locations, but so far there are no details. The thought of the pool being closed for more than a year is \u201ca big thing,\u201d she said, adding \u201cPeople are very, very concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Rose Bowl Aquatic Center on April 6 in Pasadena. The facility will host diving in the 2028 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n
(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Like a dozen other regulars, Bonnie Stern talked about the social hub the Aquatics Center creates. It\u2019s been her gateway to new friendships, a walking group, brunches and even a regular happy hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all really concerned. There\u2019s such a wonderful community here,\u201d said Stern, who works in the entertainment industry. \u201cWe haven\u2019t heard yet where we can go. And where are we going to be able to find what we have now?\u201d<\/p>\n
The complex also rents space to a cafe and a separate shop, the Swim Guy. Michael Eisenberg, who co-owns the swim equipment business with his brother, Craig, worries about losing clientele.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent a lot of money setting this up and building our relationships with customers and teams,\u201d Michael Eisenberg said. \u201cThe RBAC asked us if we could stay open and service the community during construction, but I don\u2019t see how we can do that, since all our teams and the public will be scattered to different pools in the area. My brother and I are kind of freaking out about it about how best to serve the teams and the public and the financial cost of closing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aquatics Center executive director Melanie Sauer said the nonprofit and its many user groups \u2014 for youth swimming, Masters swimming, water polo and more \u2014 are working fervently to find alternative pools. Rose Bowl Masters Swimming (to which the writer of this article belongs) already has launched new workouts at Occidental College in Eagle Rock and is talking to other pool operators.<\/p>\n
The financial losses during the closure could be significant. The Aquatic Center reported $8.6 million in receipts from admissions, merchandise and services in 2024, the most recent year reported on its federal tax filings. Another $1.6 million came in via gifts, grants, contributions and membership fees.<\/p>\n
Sauer said that an \u201cRBAC on the Road\u201d program will seek to draw payments from user groups when they relocate to other pools. She said it\u2019s premature to provide any details of those arrangements.<\/p>\n
Organizers of the Games announced the shift to the Rose Bowl center \u2014 in the Arroyo Seco just south of the more than 100-year-old football stadium \u2014 in September of last year. Previously, the Games planned to have divers compete at the LA84 Foundation\/John C. Argue Swim Stadium, immediately southwest of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will host track and field events.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
A drone view of the pool, lower right, at Exposition Park on Nov. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
But the Exposition Park pool, used for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, was not deep or wide enough for diving. And it would have proven more costly to retrofit than the Rose Bowl pool. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis facility requires minimal work, provides additional amenities for athletes, and accounts for up to $17.6 million in revenue increases and cost savings,\u201d LA28 said when it announced the shift to the Rose Bowl pool.<\/p>\n
People familiar with the plans for the Pasadena complex say that Olympic diving fans will be seated in bleachers that will be erected atop the \u201ccompetition\u201d pool, which sits closest to the parking lot. Additional seats may wrap around the north end of the dive pool.<\/p>\n
That pool\u2019s 10-meter platform, originally constructed with a donation from the late televangelist Gene Scott, will be torn down and replaced. One plan being considered by LA28 organizers would eschew the existing locker rooms in favor of temporary modular structures, the sources said.<\/p>\n
LA28 officials believe that any short-term losses to the center will be more than made up for by the long-term gains from the international attention the pools will receive and the promise that other major swimming and diving events will be held there, according to people who have spoken to the Olympic organization. LA28 officials point to an analysis by the Southern California Assn. of Governments that projected the Games will generate more than $17 billion in gross domestic product for the region.<\/p>\n
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1. A child jumps off a diving board. 2. Margaret Shieh, 79, of San Marino, participates in a water fitness class. 3. Swimmers do laps at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n
Both the 2028 Games and those future events will help fill Pasadena hotels, restaurants and shops, bolstering the local economy and adding tax dollars to the city treasury, according to supporters of the plan. The pool is being considered as the site of the 2028 Olympic diving trials, one source said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis historic opportunity will shine a global spotlight on our community,\u201d the Aquatic Center proclaimed last year. \u201cWe look forward to keeping you updated as more details become available.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When they landed the diving competition for the 2028 Summer Olympics last year, operators of the Rose Bowl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[168093,8010,853,1512,10678,80017,48,52,51,27729,47,50,49,1741,1977,592,3230,168094,168095,22951,72],"class_list":["post-420792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-50-meter-pool","tag-center","tag-detail","tag-facility","tag-games","tag-improvement","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-la28","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-lot","tag-pasadena","tag-people","tag-plan","tag-rose-bowl-aquatics-center","tag-rose-bowl-pool","tag-water-polo","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}