Frequently Asked Questions

PHILAquatics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to building and sustaining a best in class, inclusive, multi-purpose Aquatic Center in Chester County, PA that will serve both the local community and the Greater Philadelphia Region. The Center will meet a wide range of community needs in aquatics, wellness, recreation, and fitness. It is designed to welcome individuals and families of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, whether for recreational enjoyment, therapeutic benefit, or high-level competitive swimming.

The Center will be a hub where community connects, athletes compete, health and wellness is prioritized, and people of all ages and abilities are empowered—all through the power of water.

PHILAquatics was founded in 2023 by a group of civic-minded, visionary leaders who recognized a critical gap: there is no publicly accessible, inclusive, multi-purpose aquatics facility in the Greater Philadelphia Region. In fact, there is no comparable multi-pool aquatic center in the region or the state. PHILAquatics is working to change that by creating a regional resource that brings people together, promotes health, and strengthens the fabric of our community.

The Center will include five separate pools with varying depths, temperatures and features to support a full spectrum of aquatic needs—swim lessons, fitness, therapy, special needs, senior programming, family recreation, leisure, and competitive swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, Special Olympics, and Paralympics.

Beyond the pools, the Center will also offer related amenities:

• Multi-purpose meeting and classroom spaces
• Cardio and strength training facilities
• Indoor and outdoor space for camps, events, and family gatherings
• Green space with walking, jogging, and biking trails
• Outdoor areas for community events, activities, and celebrations

The Aquatic Center will provide a full array of programs promoting health, safety, and joy for individuals and families across all life stages. Examples include:

• Learn-to-swim classes for all ages and abilities, including baby and toddler classes, adaptive and special needs classes, and active adult classes
• Water safety instruction, training, and certifications
• Aqua fitness and cross training
• Recreation and aquatic lifestyle programs and events, including birthday parties and social events, community meetings, and corporate events.
• Competitive aquatic programs in swimming, diving, water polo, masters swimming, artistic swimming, and triathlon training and competition
• Senior and active aging wellness and fitness programs
• Aquatic therapy and rehab
• Inclusive programming for individuals with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other neurodivergent disorders

PHILAquatics is committed to equitable access and will ensure that all members of the community can participate.

No existing pool, health club, private club, or YMCA matches the scope, diversity, and accessibility of the planned PHILAquatics’ Center. With multiple pools and broad programming all under one roof, the Center will provide unparalleled opportunities as a uniquely comprehensive resource for Chester County and Southeastern Pennsylvania – and beyond.

There currently is unmet demand for swim lessons, special needs programming, aquatic fitness, family aquatic recreation, and training and competition opportunities for aquatic sports. Year round aquatics is mostly available only in membership based organizations and private facilities as well as for-profit swim schools. The area needs a comprehensive aquatic facility that is accessible to the entire community and provides programs not currently available anywhere else.

NO! You do not need to be a member of the Aquatic Center to use the facility or participate in the classes and programs offered. While memberships will be available for individuals, couples, youth, seniors, and families, the Center will also offer single-use day passes and flexible access options to ensure it is welcoming and usable for everyone.

A membership in the Aquatic Center will include a wide range of benefits tailored to user needs. These benefits include access to all open swim, recreation, and lap times, discounts on programs and classes, priority program registration, guest passes, and more. Membership categories will include adults, seniors, couples, child/youth, and families as well as significant senior and couple membership discounts.

While the costs of daily drop-ins and memberships have yet to be established, the vision of PHILAquatics is to provide membership, daily access, and programs at an affordable level below the costs of private clubs and facilities. Financial assistance programs and scholarships will also be provided by PHILAquatics for those unable to afford the full cost of Aquatic Center use and programs.

The opening hours of the Aquatic Center will be similar to existing recreation and fitness facilities in the area. Weekdays hours are projected to be 6am to 10pm and weekends open 7am to 8pm as demand dictates. For reference, most YMCAs are open from 5am to 10pm on weekdays and Lifetime Fitness is open from 4am to midnight on weekdays.

One of the advantages of the substantial number of lanes and multiple pools at the Aquatic Center is that there will always be lap lanes available for public and member use throughout the day. Lap lanes will be available in both the cooler water of the Main Pool and the warmer water of the Program Pool to accommodate the different needs of lap and recreation swimmers.

Lap lanes will also be available in the main 50 meter pool even while swim teams are practicing. Lanes will also be available in the program pool when events are hosted in the Aquatic Center.

The Aquatic Center is designed to meet a wide range of preferences by offering multiple pools, each with carefully regulated water temperatures. The Competition Pool will range from 80° to 81°, the Program Pool from 84° to 86°, the Swim School Pool from 88° to 90°, and the Therapy/Rehab Pool will be maintained at 92°. A hot tub/whirlpool will also be available for relaxation and recovery. This range ensures that every user—from competitive athletes to young children to individuals in therapy—can find the right temperature for their comfort and needs.

Ensuring accessibility has been central to PHILAquatics’ mission since day one. The Center will be designed with guidance from accessibility consultants to exceed ADA standards and include thoughtful design to ensure maximum physical and user friendly accessibility. Economic and cultural access will be addressed through inclusive programming and scheduling, as well as scholarship support and financial assistance programs.

The Aquatic Center can provide a wide range of enhanced aquatic access and programming in collaboration with local school districts. The Aquatic Center can serve as the home pool for high school varsity Swimming and Diving Teams, providing more space, pool time and support facilities for both practice and competition. This will create a significant opportunity for increased participation and access for more students as well as opening the door to expand the swim team programs to the middle schools.

PHILAquatics can also work closely with the local school districts to provide aquatic programming through expanded PE Programs and adaptive PE and Special Needs programing throughout school districts. Special needs programs and opportunities can be coordinated through the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) to provide expanded programming throughout the County. The potential exists to offer free swim lessons for all students in 2^nd grade, for example (in a collaboration between a local school district and PHILAquatics).

School district students will also have access to a wide range of year round part-time and full-time summer jobs as well as internship, volunteer, and community service opportunities as a result of the Aquatic Center’s wide range of programming options.

The Aquatic Center will host a wide range of swimming, diving, water polo, and masters swimming events. These events can include high school, club, and even some collegiate and YMCA events. These events can range from small dual meets and games drawing no more than 300 competitors and spectators to mid-sized regional events drawing upwards of 500-800 competitors and spectators at any time. We also anticipate three to five large weekend meets per year with 1,000-1,400 competitors and spectators at any given time over a weekend.

The Aquatic Center will include elevated seating capacity for 1,000 spectators, consisting of 700 permanent seats and 300 retractable temporary seats. Pool deck space will accommodate 700-800 competitors. The maximum capacity will only be needed for three to five weekends per year. The area of retractable seats will provide additional flexible programming space for the other 350 days each year when not needed for these few larger events.

These events will generate sports tourism and economic impact to the local community and businesses as well as Chester County overall. The event schedule is projected to generate approximately $23M in economic impact annually by year three of operation.

YES! The multi-pool design of the Aquatic Center provides separation of event participants and spectators from the regular daily users and members, even during the largest events. Community users and members will continue to have access to the Program Pool, the Swim School, and the Therapy Pool as well as all of the programs offered in these pools during events as well as the fitness and workout spaces.

Events are usually hosted on weekends and evenings, mostly avoiding normal peak traffic hours. Most events have staggered arrival and departure times, so event traffic is spread out throughout the day of the event, not concentrated at a start or finish time common with most local team sports and games.

The current design includes 350 parking spaces on site for the Aquatic Center. The average parking needs for regular daily programming and use is 160 to 180 parking spaces, maxing out at 200 during peak times. For the largest events (only 3-5 times/year) the parking needs will approach 400 combining the event attendees and regular daily users. This demand will necessitate that PHILAquatics partner with local businesses or locations for an additional 50 spaces of shared use parking.

The current Aquatic Center design only includes facilities for aquatic sports as well as limited fitness, cardio, strength and rehab facilities for members and daily users in support of the aquatic programs offered. No other sport facilities such as courts or gyms are included in the design. The Aquatic Center is not intended to compete with existing fitness centers, health clubs, or YMCAs in multi-sport and fitness use.

Yes. The current Aquatic Center plans include several multi-purpose function/meeting/classroom spaces that will support aquatic and fitness programs, and provide meeting and function spaces available to community residents and organizations. These community function spaces can be used for birthday and pool parties, classes, meetings, and special social events, and will be available for public rental.

The Aquatic Center’s current 82,000 sq. ft. design does include space and flexibility for future expansion. Future expansion could include the following based on community interest and potential business or community partnerships.

• Health Care clinics, such as therapy/rehab, sports medicine, etc., with a health care partner
• Outdoor Pool
• Court sports, indoor or outdoor spaces such as pickleball, volleyball, basketball, etc.
• Indoor walking track
• Outdoor function spaces
• Other opportunities as interest and demand may dictate

The Aquatic Center will provide a wide range of jobs, including:

• Full-time management positions
• Maintenance and operational jobs
• Lifeguards
• Instructors, camp counselors, and coaches
• Operations, maintenance, development, and events personnel
• Front desk, administrative, and outreach staff

Additional opportunities will be available for internships, on the job training, community service for DASD students, and volunteer positions. Overall, the Aquatic Center will generate $9.8M in wages and benefits over the first five years of operation.

PHILAquatics has developed a focused, business oriented, entrepreneurial approach to the design and management of the Aquatic Center to optimize financial sustainability while providing affordable programs, membership, and user access. PHILAquatics has assessed multiple comparable, successful and financially sustainable aquatic centers across the country to understand the keys to success and risks for failure. The design of the Aquatic Center provides for concurrent programming across all of the facilities to best utilize the facility elements and features to optimize revenue. The business model also includes diversified revenue sources to optimize revenue and avoid dependence on any one revenue stream. The Aquatic Center has also identified and will include the most energy efficient and cost effective mechanical and energy systems to reduce operating costs, particularly energy and water use.

PHILAquatics has secured a 12-acre site in Chester County. Specific site details are currently being finalized.

With the location secured and the Agreement of Sale finalized, PHILAquatics is now preparing to launch a major fundraising and funding effort to more deeply engage with community stakeholders. Once threshold funding is reached, we will complete the full design development stage, and launch in earnest into construction. The Center is currently projected to open in 2030.

Your gift—of any size—will help bring this much needed, transformative project to life. There are sponsorship opportunities and volunteer opportunities available to support the Center’s development at every stage. To make a donation or learn more about giving, sponsorship, and volunteer opportunities, and other ways you can support the project, please visit www.PHILAquatics.org.

To receive updates, get more involved, or to help make the Aquatic Center a reality:

• Contact Geoffrey A. Meyer, Executive Director, at gmeyer@PHILAquatics.org
• Visit www.PHILAquatics.org.