Woollett Expanding Irvine breaks ground on a $42 million expansion of the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, adding a new Olympic-sized competition pool, a splash pad for kids ages 2 to 12, and a NinjaCross obstacle course to the facility between Heritage Community Park and Irvine High School.

The center currently has two competition pools and a smaller teaching pool. The upgrade will add a fourth pool, along with a new parking lot on Walnut Avenue, a training and locker room building, a pool equipment building, and covered bleachers for spectators. Construction is set to finish in spring 2028, and the facility will stay open throughout.

Mayor Larry Agran said the expansion responds to strong demand for the city’s Learn to Swim program, which already serves more than 10,000 children a year. The fourth pool, he said, will help eliminate the program’s waitlist and support Irvine’s drowning prevention efforts, a priority given that drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for children in Orange County. The city marked the groundbreaking with a free swim lesson event where families could trade in unsafe pool floaties for Coast Guard-approved life jackets.

City officials say the new amenities, including rentable event space and the first city-run NinjaCross course, should help offset the project’s cost over time, though revenue isn’t the main goal. “The city is more focused on providing a facility to the public that they’re going to be able to enjoy and use,” said Manager of Project Delivery Stacy DeLong.

The Community and Library Services Commission began planning the project in 2021 and finalized the design in 2025. The City Council approved a construction contract with S.J. Amoroso Construction Co. in April. Officials said temporary pedestrian routes will keep Walnut Avenue accessible during construction, and the site will be managed to avoid disrupting the school year.

Irvine considered building a comparable facility at the Great Park but shelved the idea over cost, an estimated $150 million to $200 million. Agran didn’t rule out a future Great Park aquatics facility but said the city will keep prioritizing projects within its approved parks budget.

Looking further out, officials expect the expanded center to draw more national and international swimming events, including possible pre-Olympic training visits ahead of the 2028 LA Games. This summer alone, the Woollett Center is hosting the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics, the Toyota National Swimming Championships, the Speedo Junior National Championships, and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. “Increasingly, Irvine is becoming known as a sports tourism city,” Agran said.