Roosevelt Swim Center to receive open-air dome for outdoor pool

RAPID CITY, S.D. – More than $1 million in Vision Funds are headed to the Roosevelt Swim Center, towards installing an open-air dome over the outdoor pool.

Thanks to the Rapid City Racers and GREAT swim teams, plans for the dome extend around the pool with a tunnel connecting to the outside entrance, making it available all year-round. Once completed, the city will be open to more local and state-wide opportunities.

“If we enclose this, there’s several more meets we can have, including the state meet every few years. These meets bring in hundreds and hundreds of people to the city. They’re buying hotel rooms, they’re spending money,” Rapid City Racers Board Member Aaron Ude explains. “So it has an economic impact as well as this great human impact of being able to do therapy. All these groups get to participate and enjoy these activities and sports they enjoy.”

In warmer weather, the outdoor pool is used by other groups for water polo, paddle board yoga and more. However, trying to practice these activities inside can prove difficult space-wise. A collapsible dome will help all water activities to continue practicing throughout the year.

“You know, this is a great facility we have right here. And if we can cover it, we can use it nine more months out of the year, it triples the amount of lane space we have compared to inside,” Ude said. “It also can come down in the summer, because a lot of people love that it’s outside in the summer.”

Roosevelt’s outdoor pool is the only 50-meter pool West River. According to Ude, having more swim meets could bring in at least a million more dollars a year in revenue.