Bridging the aquatics gap in Grand Forks

While much of the Hyslop Sports Center will be coming offline at the end of this year to make way for the building’s eventual demolition, UND officials intend to keep the Hyslop’s pool portion operational for a few months longer.

It’s an important part of an overall community stop-gap solution to ensure year-round public access to recreational and competitive indoor pools over the next several years – between the time the Hyslop pool permanently goes away and a new multiuse indoor recreational facility and proposed competitive pool will open in the spring of 2027, south of the Alerus Center.

For several years, UND and Grand Forks School District leaders have been working with community partners to develop the plan.

Here’s what they intend to do:

• The Hyslop pool at UND will remain operational through March 2025 (the end of the 2024-25 swimming/diving season). With both local high schools’ pools currently not in use, Grand Forks swimming/diving teams already are using Hyslop pool as their interim home. the Hyslop pool will also continue to serve as a place for swimming lessons and other public recreational aquatics activities until the conclusion of the 2024-25 swimming/diving season.
• UND intends to permanently close and raze the Hyslop pool following the 2024-25 swimming/diving season. This work will be the final sequence of a larger project to tear down the entire Hyslop Sports Center to make way for a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education building.
• All aquatics activities at Hyslop pool will then shift to Central High School’s indoor pool, which will be reopened until the end of 2026-27 swimming/diving season.
• Then the new multiuse facility and proposed pool will take on public recreational and competitive aquatics activities, once it comes online in the spring of 2027.

The Grand Cities have been blessed, over the years, with year-round access to indoor public pools, thanks to quality-of-life commitments from the University, School District and other community partners.

In recent years, however, it has become harder to consistently operate and maintain some of the area’s aging indoor pools – such as those at Red River and Central high schools, and the Hyslop pool – as costly mechanical and infrastructure issues have hastened the end of the pools’ useful lifespans.

“That’s why the University, School District and other community partners have been discussing ways we can work together to ensure recreational swimming and diving opportunities continue unabated until a permanent community aquatics solution is in place,” said UND President Andrew Armacost.

Terry Brenner, Grand Forks School District superintendent, said UND and the School District intend to follow the plan and timeline as long as it’s deemed safe for the public to be in their aquatics facilities.

“This plan is a strong indication of the collaborative spirit that exists in our community,” Brenner said.