Roughly 300 SMU athletes, alumni, and staff gathered in a tent on SMU’s East Campus Friday, Feb. 26 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new SMU aquatics center.

“It’s one of the most exciting things to happen for SMU swimming and diving and it’s definitely going to be worth the wait,” said Tara-Lynn Nicholas, who swims the breaststroke for the women’s team.

The 42,000-square-foot center, which will be named the Robson and Lindley Aquatics Center after two of the project’s major donors, will include an Olympic-sized, eight-lane indoor pool, a platform diving well, men’s and women’s teams’ locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and seating for 800 spectators. The pool will be accessible to both the campus and the community.

SMU President R. Gerald Turner and four other speakers led the ceremony, thanking the donors who supported the project and congratulating the swim teams on their new facility. The aquatics center will provide a home for continued success in the swimming and diving programs.