MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. – After years of anticipation, Mobile County Commissioners, other elected officials, community leaders, and many members of the local swim community gathered on Sept. 6 to break ground on the new state-of-the-art Mobile County Aquatic Center.

More than 200 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson, who has championed this project for over a decade said, “This is a momentous day for our community. The Mobile County Aquatic Center will be a premier facility, a hub of activity, and a source of pride for local residents who will now have a home for competitive swimming, as well as instructional and recreational swimming.”

 

Phase I of the Mobile County Aquatic Center construction will begin this month and includes:

• An outdoor 25-yard by 50-meter competition pool with two dive wells
• A check-in/concessions building
• An indoor warm-up/instructional pool
• Locker rooms and restrooms
• 176 parking spaces

Funding for Phase I of the 40,000-square-foot facility comes from various sources, with over $19 million from Mobile County capital improvement funds, Commission district funds, and federal grants, with an additional $3.5 million in contributions from the City of Mobile and the Mobile County Public School System.  Phase I is expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months.

Future Phase II plans include an indoor 25-yard by 25-meter competitive pool, spectator seating for 645, a lobby, offices, and additional concessions.

According to the City of Mobile Swim Association (CMSA), when the Mobile County Aquatics Center is fully built, it will be the second largest in the state.

The groundbreaking ceremony included the following:

• Presider: District 2 Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson
• Invocation: Pastor John Breland, South Coast Church
• Mobile County Commission President Randall Dueitt
• Mobile City Council President C.J. Small
• Executive Director of the Mobile Sports Authority Danny Corte
• CMSA Head Coach Tyler Kerns
• CMSA VP and Mobile Sports Authority Board Member Daryl Gomien
• Mobile County Board of School Commissioners District representative 4 Sherry McDade
• U.S. Olympian Paige Madden

All speakers commended Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson for her leadership, vision, and effort to build the Mobile County Aquatic Center.  Many commented on the groundbreaking being a historic occasion and how this facility was decades in the making.

Commission President Randall Dueitt expressed pride that what was once a wooded lot is now thriving sports fields and will soon boast a world-class aquatic center because of the Mobile County Commission.

U.S. Olympic medalist Paige Madden commented on the beauty of the future Mobile County Aquatic Center and explained the impact swimming has had on her life. “I hope swimming in this facility touches at least one person the same way swimming has touched me,” she added.

Many speakers highlighted the economic impact of sports tourism and the benefits of the new Mobile County Aquatic Center. Danny Corte, executive director of the Mobile Sports Authority expects that the new Mobile County Aquatic Center will attract even more visitors to the area. “Each new swimming competition hosted at the Mobile County Aquatic Center should yield $750,000 to $1 million for our local economy,” said Corte.

Mobile Sports Authority reported a local economic impact of $31 million from 39 events held in 2023. According to Tourism Economics, U.S. sports-related travel had a total economic impact of $91.8 billion with more than 200 million people traveling for youth, amateur, and collegiate sporting events in 2023.

Mobile City Council President C.J. Small commented how collaboration on this effort and tourism revenue from the Mobile County Aquatic Center will be beneficial fuel for future projects. Collaboration was also a key point in District 4 School Board Member Sherry McDade’s comments, during which she said that the Board of School Commissioners anticipates contributing to Phase 2 of the Mobile County Aquatic Center.

“The Mobile County Aquatic Center will be transformational for the swim community,” said CMSA Head Coach Tyler Kerns, adding that this new facility will serve the whole community and “give competitive swimmers a place to chase their goals.” Similarly, CMSA Vice President and Mobile Sports Authority Board Member Daryl Gomien said he expects many more Olympians to emerge from the Mobile County Aquatic Center.

In addition to competitive swimming and diving, the Mobile County Aquatic Center will offer a range of programs for high school, youth, and masters swim clubs and teams, recreational swimming, aquatic exercise, various instructional programs, and underwater ROV practice and competitions for robotics teams. First responders including the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, local police and fire departments, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard, will also utilize the facility for in-water training.

The Mobile County Aquatic Center was designed by Williams Blackstock Architects and the contractor is Persons Services Corp.

The Mobile County Aquatic Center will be built within the roughly 200-acre Mobile County Sportsplex at 3701 Hall’s Mill Road, near the intersection of I-10 and I-65. The Mobile County Sportsplex also houses the Mobile County Soccer Complex, a multi-phase project that will include 10 fields, a championship field, ample parking, and spectator facilities when completed.