Aquatics Center opens Saturday

 A concept almost 50-years in the making in New Prague finally becomes a reality Saturday, July 1.

The New Prague Aquatics Center opens its doors at 7 a.m. The $10.2 million, 27,000-square-foot addition to the Central Education Campus will be open seven days a week, starting at 5:30 a.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. Sundays. Hours vary by day, and Tuesday, July 4, will have holiday hours, with the pool open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

“We’re very excited for this weekend,” Aquatics Director Bryce Bachman said. There will be free admission to the pool on Thursday, July 6.

There is a daily admission fee for the pool, with punch card discounts and memberships for sale at the Aquatics Center. Information can be found online at the New Prague Community Education website.

An indoor pool was first proposed nearly 50 years ago, when the school district was first considering building a school in the early 1970s. The first two bond proposals were defeated and a third proposal for a high school (the current middle school) did not include a pool. The proposal resurfaced again from time to time - including a failed referendum in the early 2000s. It was finally approved as part of a school facilities bond referendum approved in May, 2015 and ground was broken in 2016. The referendum allotted $9 million for the pool, with the City of New Prague contributing another $1.2 million to pay for recreational components of the center.

The pool is operated under a joint powers agreement between the city and school district, with the two entities sharing operating costs of the Aquatics Center and the existing outdoor pool at Memorial Park. The new pool is the fourth largest indoor facility in Minnesota, behind the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center, the Rochester Rec Center and the University of St. Thomas Aquatics Center.

Bachman said lifeguards, swim instructors and other employees have been hired and trained in, so the facility will be fully staffed from the start.

The indoor aquatics center includes a....

To see more on this story pick up the June 29, 2017 print edition of The New Prague Times. 

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