For years Redstone community members would suggest opening an indoor pool. That finally happened in February 2013. But the pandemic closed the Aquatics Center in March 2020 and funding constraints kept it closed.
The center will reopen in April.
“I’m excited to have it back opening,” Aquatics Manager Devin Atkinson said. “And I know many of our patrons have been chomping at the bit to get back in the water.”
An open house is scheduled April 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. where people can visit the facility and buy their passes. There will be a door prize giving away one three-month pass.
The Aquatics Center’s grand reopening is Monday, April 4 at 5 a.m.
“Starting off we are going to have lap swim Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Atkinson said. “We will have water aerobics returning on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-9:45 a.m. And then on Wednesdays we’ll be offering a new aqua stretch class from 9-9:45 as well.
“We will have yoga coming sometime in May. Our float pod will return sometime shortly after opening.”
The center, building 3705 near the corner of Aerobee and Patton, will be open Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m.
It’s for anyone affiliated with the Department of Defense and their families. Cost for a daily pass is $5 for active-duty military, $7 for DOD and all others. A three-month pass for an active-duty person is $100 and for a family up to four people, $225. A three-month pass for DOD and other individuals is $190 and for a family up to four people, $400. A year pass for an active-duty person is $200, and for a family up to four, $350. A year pass for DOD and other individuals is $250 and for a family up to four, $425.
The cost for any family pass that has more than four individuals will be $25 apiece for each additional person.
Atkinson became a lifeguard at the center in 2014 and was a lead lifeguard until 2019 when he assumed the assistant management role. He became the manager in 2020. His staff of 10 other lifeguards includes some returnees and new faces.
“We’re real excited to have it come back,” Gaylene Wilson, chief of the recreation division for Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, said. “It’s been something that people have asked for. We actually didn’t expect it to open again so we’re excited to be able to bring the service back to the community.
“Initially it closed due to COVID. It remained closed because we continued to lose the funding and did not have the resources to reopen it. So we need the community’s support.”
In past years the Redstone Launchers youth swim team, for ages 5-17, used the Aquatics Center. “We’re going to try to revive the Launchers swim program,” Mike Gates, the Child and Youth Services sports and fitness director, said. He said he hopes to see that happen this year. For information about the Launchers, call Gates at 313-3699.
The Aquatics Center can be reached at 313-1200.
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