Holland Aquatic Center will be celebrating the total completion of its three-year, $26.3 million renovation and expansion project with a special grand opening event called El Carnaval, on Saturday, May 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Besides Mega Splash activities offered for all ages inside HAC’s pool areas, El Carnaval will also feature six food trucks in HAC’s parking lot, giveaways, live entertainment, and a raffle that will benefit its swim lesson scholarship program.
All guests are welcome. HAC admittance and Mega Splash are free to Holland public school residents and members. Standard rates apply for non-residents.
“With our construction recently wrapping up, we wanted to set aside a day to celebrate two things especially – all the hard work that went this project by all of our work teams and all the residents in the Holland Public School District who made this project possible,” said Jack Huisingh, executive director of HAC.
“We are grateful for our community’s support, not only with the bond proposal that passed four years ago to make this renovation possible, but also for the recent operational millage renewal that makes our day-to-day operations possible. We appreciate the trust that’s been given us to be one of the nation’s best aquatic and wellness facilities serving every age, every family, every day.”
HAC’s $26.3 million expansion and renovation project began in the spring of 2020 and is taxpayer-supported. Several areas opened to the public in early February 2022 such as an expanded fitness area, indoor walking track, warm-water zone, steam room, sauna, spa, and Splash Zone.
The new second-floor fitness area features a wellness room, a variety of exercise equipment and an indoor track measuring one-tenth of a mile and overlooking the surrounding community and pools below. The warm-water zone includes a warm-water lap pool, sauna, steam room and large, quadrantal hot tub. The family-friendly Splash Zone consists of a three-story indoor slide, a lazy river area, zero-entry wading pool and another large pool area for aquatic play.
Also completed in February 2022 were Holland Aquatic Center’s expanded lobby and universal change area. The lobby, wellness room and indoor track were all funded by $3 million in gifts made to the HAC Foundation.
The front entrance canopy and mechanical system upgrades were the last improvements made to HAC.