A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Sept. 24 to celebrate the opening of the new fourth pool at the Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC).

The 27,000-square-foot addition provides 19 additional lanes, making the Greensboro Aquatic Center the largest facility of its kind in the country. Hotel occupancy revenues funded the $8.3 million project.

“This new pool is a direct result of the tremendous success of the GAC since its grand opening in 2011,” said Greensboro Coliseum Complex managing director Matt Brown. “We are thrilled to have the fourth pool to help meet the intense demand for bookings, including meets, practice time for local teams and clubs and our incredibly diverse array of GAC programming, including the phenomenal growth of our ‘Learn to Swim’ program with Guilford County Schools.”

The additional lanes will serve myriad uses, including providing increased pool time/swimming lanes for GAC members, clubs and high school teams. The fourth pool will also create more opportunities for members to participate in exercise, fitness and therapeutic classes, swim and water safety lessons and general recreational swimming.

The addition of a fourth pool also further enhances the GAC’s ability to host championship competitive swimming and diving meets. To date, the local economic impact from Aquatic Center events since its opening in 2011 has exceed $150 million (source: Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau).

The ribbon cutting ceremony included remarks from Brown, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Greensboro Aquatic Center manager Susan Braman. Immediately following the ceremony, special guest Olympic swimmer Hali Flickinger helped open the new pool by participating in a swim lesson with students from Greensboro’s Archer Elementary School as part of the GAC’s nationally renowned ‘Learn to Swim’ program in conjunction with Guilford County Schools.