Plans for a New Aquatics Center

Dear Tufts community members,

I am pleased to announce that the university will soon be submitting plans to the city of Medford for a new aquatics center. The facility will be built on College Avenue, with construction expected to be completed by the beginning of the Fall 2028 semester.

We are grateful to the many alumni and friends who have made generous contributions to the aquatics center. We have had philanthropic support from alumni swimmers and divers and their parents, as well as from the wider community of university donors who want to expand opportunities across our varsity, club, intramural, and recreation and wellness programs. We have already raised $21.7 million—with the help of a $5 million donor challenge match—against the goal of $27.5 million for the new facility, which is approximately 50% of the total construction costs.

Our need for the new aquatics center is significant: Hamilton Pool, which opened in 1946, is the oldest aquatics center in our athletic conference. This means we're unable to host NESCAC swimming and diving championship meets—despite the strength of our men's and women's programs—and requires our divers to practice at other universities. We are also unable to serve the wider university community at a level that is needed and desired.

This latest addition to the university's athletics campus will be located adjacent to the recently completed Sol Gittleman Park and Vouté Tennis Center. Also planned for the area is a tennis pavilion that will provide a team room for men's and women's tennis as well as restroom facilities for the athletics fields.

In addition to the benefits that the new aquatics center will offer our student-athletes, the facility will also allow more recreational use by students, staff, and faculty. At the same time, it will provide benefits for members of the Medford and Somerville communities.

More information about the new aquatics center is available on Tufts Now.

We will be working closely with officials in the city of Medford, our neighbors, and the university community to communicate the project's progress.

Best regards,

Michael W. Howard
Executive Vice President