EAST LANSING, Mich. — Due to the uncertainty of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for facility improvements, the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center will be closed for the 2021 season.
“The safety and wellbeing of our visitors is of the utmost importance and we feel that it is best to not open this summer, given the current status of the pandemic and the fact that hiring lifeguards and planning for the season needs to begin now,” said East Lansing Parks, Recreation & Arts Director Tim McCaffrey. “We also want to take this opportunity to make necessary upgrades at the facility, with plans to re-open an improved Aquatic Center to the public in summer 2022.”
The Aquatic Center first opened in East Lansing in May 2001 and, after many years of extensive community use, the facility is starting to show signs of its age. Improvements planned for this summer include replacement of the pool liner, concrete repair work around the pool edge and gutters, refurbishment of the facility’s water slides and landscaping upgrades that will improve the overall look of the facility. The facility’s existing pool liner was installed in 2005 and has surpassed its 10-year useful life expectancy, and the water slides and cement around the pool are also showing signs of needed repairs. The improvements at the facility will be funded with dollars allocated for parks and recreation infrastructure improvements from the City of East Lansing’s Income Tax Fund.
“While we know there will be some disappointment about the closure of the facility this summer, these planned improvements will ensure the continued operation of the facility for many years to come,” said East Lansing Parks and Recreation Projects Coordinator and former Aquatics Coordinator Jim Jennings. “We are looking forward to unveiling these improvements to the community next summer.”