MORGANTOWN — Construction of the Aquatic and Track Center at Mylan Park is well under way.
The track’s grand opening will be next week and the aquatic center will be under roof, a construction milestone, this winter, Keith Hernstrom, executive director of Mylan Park, said during Wednesday’s media tour of the $48 million facility.
He said the facility, with three pools, fitness center and splash pad, should open in fall 2019 and the outdoor splash pad will open when the weather allows.
“It’s a state-of-the-art facility,” Hernstrom said. “You won’t find another facility in the region on this level.”
The first pool is a 50-meter competition pool that will be used to host Big 12 events, Hernstrom said. Bleachers will allow up to 1,200 fans watch athletes compete.
The Big 12 has rigid specifications for its facilities and Hernstrom said Mylan Park worked closely with the Big 12, WVU Athletics and the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission in planning the facility.
Ron Justice, Mylan Park board president and former Morgantown mayor, said the competition pool has a moving divider that can divide the pool in half if needed.
There will also be a diving pool with a dive tower and springboard diving boards. The tower has space to jump from as high as 10-meters to as low as 1-meter. The springboards will be 3- and 1-meter high.
A 25-meter community swimming pool will be open to the public. Hernstrom said the community pool will remain open even during competitions and events in the competition pool.
The community pool will have a circular slide, smaller slides for kids and zero-depth entry, he said.
Parents can watch their children play while they get a workout in. An 1,800-square-foot fitness area will overlook the community pool, Hernstrom said.
He said 15 full-time jobs, including camp and recreation planners, maintenance workers and business and finance professionals will be created. There will also be about 150-170 part-time jobs once the facility opens.
Mountain Line has a route to Mylan Park and Hernstron said there will be a dedicated bus stop at the facility.
“The facility is fabulous,” Susan Riddle, executive director of the Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau, said.
She said as a destination marketing organization the state-of-art facility is a great attraction that can be used to sell Morgantown as a destination.
Tweet Will Dean @WillDean_DP; wdean@domininionpost.com
