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In Paris they didn't want to build a white elephant swimming venue that will never get filled outside of the Olympics. So instead they converted an indoor stadi

In Paris they didn't want to build a white elephant swimming venue that will never get filled outside of the Olympics. So instead they converted an indoor stadium, the Paris La Défense Arena that is normally used for rugby and concerts. You can see in the timelapse video here[1] the pool being built above the surface. They built it to a depth of 2.15m, the minimum required is 2m, but the recommended depth is 3m. I can only assume that making it deeper would have cost more, and perhaps reduced the sightlines from the stands as the pool would have been higher in the arena? [1] https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29555045/paris-2024-olympics-swimming-rugby/ https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29555045/paris-2024-olympics-...

hnburnsy 2y ago
Ummmm.... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Aquatic_Centre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Aquatic_Centre
- morepork 2y ago
  "it is hosting the diving, water polo, and artistic swimming competitions."
- phatfish 2y ago
  Paris La Défense Arena -- Aquatics (swimming, water polo finals) Paris Aquatic Centre -- Aquatics (water polo preliminaries, diving, artistic swimming)
  - hnburnsy 2y ago
    > Paris Aquatic Centre -- Aquatics (water polo preliminaries, diving, artistic swimming) Why not have those events at a different temporary facility? Feels like they did not avoid building a white elephant... >Last Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the Olympic Aquatic Centre, but behind the flashes and smiles of the opening ceremony was a complex story that saw the budget increase by more than €115 million and the number of events reduced.
    - KuiN 2y ago
      https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/venues/aquatics-centre https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/venues/aquatics-centre > From swimming lessons to recreational use and high-level competitions, the Aquatics Centre will be multifunctional. From July 2025, the Aquatics Centre will become a vast multi-sports facility open to all, including two pools (50m and 25m), a fitness area, bouldering area, paddle tennis section and pitches for team sports. It will also have an adjustable floor to serve a variety of purposes (swimming lessons for babies and children, etc.). The Aquatics Centre will also be the state-of-the-art facility that the French swimming community has been looking forward to for decades. The French Swimming Federation will be able to host national and international competitions in its four indoor disciplines. The Centre will also provide a best-in-class federal training facility for leading French athletes and will notably be home to the country’s diving centre
      - hnburnsy 2y ago
        You don't need a 150 million Euro facility to teach swim lessons and recreational uses. As far as high level competitions... >This capacity, which may be overlooked by many, is not for World Aquatics, which requires a minimum of 15,000 for top-level swimming events, so France will not be able to host a World Championships
- notatoad 2y ago
  that has a seating capacity of 5000, which is a size that can have future uses. la defense arena has a capacity of 40000.
well_actulily 2y ago
And similarly for Los Angeles, the current proposal is to have swimming events at SoFi, a ~70,000 seat NFL stadium.

hnburnsy 2y ago

Ummmm.... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Aquatic_Centre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Aquatic_Centre

morepork 2y ago
"it is hosting the diving, water polo, and artistic swimming competitions."
phatfish 2y ago
Paris La Défense Arena -- Aquatics (swimming, water polo finals) Paris Aquatic Centre -- Aquatics (water polo preliminaries, diving, artistic swimming)
- hnburnsy 2y ago
  > Paris Aquatic Centre -- Aquatics (water polo preliminaries, diving, artistic swimming) Why not have those events at a different temporary facility? Feels like they did not avoid building a white elephant... >Last Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the Olympic Aquatic Centre, but behind the flashes and smiles of the opening ceremony was a complex story that saw the budget increase by more than €115 million and the number of events reduced.
  - KuiN 2y ago
    https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/venues/aquatics-centre https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/venues/aquatics-centre > From swimming lessons to recreational use and high-level competitions, the Aquatics Centre will be multifunctional. From July 2025, the Aquatics Centre will become a vast multi-sports facility open to all, including two pools (50m and 25m), a fitness area, bouldering area, paddle tennis section and pitches for team sports. It will also have an adjustable floor to serve a variety of purposes (swimming lessons for babies and children, etc.). The Aquatics Centre will also be the state-of-the-art facility that the French swimming community has been looking forward to for decades. The French Swimming Federation will be able to host national and international competitions in its four indoor disciplines. The Centre will also provide a best-in-class federal training facility for leading French athletes and will notably be home to the country’s diving centre
    - hnburnsy 2y ago
      You don't need a 150 million Euro facility to teach swim lessons and recreational uses. As far as high level competitions... >This capacity, which may be overlooked by many, is not for World Aquatics, which requires a minimum of 15,000 for top-level swimming events, so France will not be able to host a World Championships
notatoad 2y ago
that has a seating capacity of 5000, which is a size that can have future uses. la defense arena has a capacity of 40000.

well_actulily 2y ago

And similarly for Los Angeles, the current proposal is to have swimming events at SoFi, a ~70,000 seat NFL stadium.