The historic Belmont Olympic Pool in Long Beach, California has been closed for the second-straight year, which means another likely reroute of the 2012 Pac 12 Championships meet.
On Thursday, January 10th, the City of Long Beach closed the pool indefinitely after a structural analysis found that the pool was “seismically unsafe,” meaning that even a moderate earthquake would cause severe damage to the facility.
The indoor pool is now closed temporarily for at least three weeks, meaning that the March 6th-9th Pac 12 Men’s Championship meet is in serious danger. After a three week closure, only affecting Belmont’s indoor course, the city will decide what the future of the facility will be in both the near-term or short-term.
This is the second-straight year that has seen a Belmont closure affect the Pac-12 Championship meet. Last year, the event was moved to East Los Angeles College, which while indoors and another mecca of the sport in California, upset some swim fans as it’s two boxed-in 25-yard courses, as compared to the behemoth 50-yard, bulkhead pools that fans have become accustomed to for big meets.
Those within the conference have hinted that UCLA, Stanford, and Arizona State are the front-runners to take over the new hosting, and that Federal Way is probably not an option, once again, because of scheduling conflicts, though there’s a chance of shifting the meet schedule to a different date and having it there. We reached out to the Pac 12 Conference for an official statement, but as of yet have not received a response. A conference call is scheduled for later this week to make the final decision.
The full statement from the City of Long Beach about the closure is below.
The Belmont Pool will be temporarily closed, effective today, due to a draft structural analysis that concludes the facility is seismically unsafe in the event of a moderate earthquake.
The City is acting in an abundance of caution for patrons and staff while City engineers review the draft analysis and inspect the facility to confirm the extent of its structural safety.
The temporary closure is expected to last approximately three weeks, and will only affect the indoor pool facility. After the review and inspections are complete, a decision will be made to reopen or keep the pool closed. The outdoor pools, locker rooms, and adjacent La Palapa Del-Mar restaurant will remain open at this time.
City staff is working with the aquatics community to minimize disruptions and help to identify alternative options and facilities.
The seismic issue recently came to light as a result of the analysis currently underway related to the revitalization plan for the entire pool complex, which opened in August 1968. The City Council authorized staff to develop options to modernize the existing pool complex.
Within 30 days, City staff will present the City Council with long-term revitalization options that may include temporary solutions to restore pool access.
When’s the PAC 12 Men’s Last Chance Meet?
Looks like PAC 12’s at Federal Way Sunday Monday Tuesday right after the Womens meet.
While most of the comments on this article concern the Pac12 meet rather than the closure of Belmont, I’d like to add a few comments about the pool, and what is happening there. Most of the comments here about the conditions at the pool are right on. I live in Long Beach, and have been swimming at Belmont since it first opened. It is a shame that the City of Long Beach has allowed this once fantastic facility to become almost unusable for competitive swimming. City officials and staff did present a plan to some of the stakeholders on Jan. 10th. Their short term solution is to put a temporary 50-meter pool in the parking lot area, but according to… Read more »
Is today the PAC12/coaches conference call? Will there be a decision by the end of this week? I need to get my Parisian rain gear ready, if traveling to Seattle.
Pac 12 responded with an official statement…fairly vague. They will decide “in the next few weeks”.
We’ll have to see…
Any thoughts about the other conferences that have meets there? I know Pac-12 is apparently the premiere event, but I do believe that there are also several conferences that also use the Long Beach pool that will probably be relocated.
SCIAC (D3), and I know PCSC (D2) had their conference championships in Long Beach for February as well.
MPSF is the only other Div I conference to hold their meet at Belmont.
Have reached out to all three, will let you know when I figure something out.
I’ve been told that the Pac12 meet is going to be at Arizona, the MPSF meet will be at East LA College, and the SCIAC meet will be at South Gate. I haven’t heard yet where the PCSC meet will be. However, the Pac12 web site still shows the Men’s meet at Belmont, and the Arizona web site shows both Women and Men at Federal Way, with the Men’s meet to start the day after the Women’s meet ends.
I sure would like to see the men and women swim together! It’s so stupid that has not already happened. The number of PAC 12 men’s teams is dwindling!! It would add some excitement to both teams!! It would be a shame for the men to have to swim in any outdoor facility. It certainly dosn’t seem fair. Everyone has to change flights and hotel no matter what so cough up the extra hundred bucks it might cost to take it to FW!!
I hope they keep the men and women’s meets separate; NCAA’s is separate and there is no reason to combine conference meets IMHO. The sessions would be long and/or days to the meet would have to be added. The goal of the conference meets is to get qualified for NCAA’s. The athletes don’t need prelim sessions lasting 5-6 hours with quick turn arounds for finals. I see disaster if they combine the men’s and women’s meets. Looks to me like they better get this decided so teams and fans can figure out hotel and flight schedules. I know most schools send out letters to professors at the first of each semester letting the professors know well in advance when travel… Read more »
swimfan25 – King County is not an option, because there’s already a meet scheduled for that weekend, as noted in the post.
Braden, Why couldn’t they move the meet up a day and run it 3/5-8 ( Tue.-Fri.)? The only conflict I see is for Sat. the 9th.
That’s not a bad suggestion PNWSWIM. I’m now being told that this is being considered…conference call later this week will confirm all.
Braden should use his “chief swimming wonk” leverage to good use by pressing the PAC 12 on this option (March 3 to 8th) and talk some sense into them. Or move it with the women during the prior week. Surely, they can’t be serious about Stanford and the distinct possibility of bone chilling cold and rain? ASU would be better than that.
It sounds like this is what they’re leaning more and more toward, driven by the coaches. Either co-scheduling with the women, or running Sunday-Wednesday right after the women.
King County has an event almost every weekend during the year (minus August and September). Pac 12 has been considering that FW be the permanent site for both men and women’s swimming… however, there is opposition to that scenario.
I like the East La pool, I actually did a best time but its not the best place and mention above it a bit shallow. Interesting I swam better in East La than I did in Belmont but I was never relax in Belmont. When I was a Senior in High School the East La Pool was new. California refused to built a new indoor pool since East La, part of it was the prop 13 that cutdown on the building of pools in the 1980’s forward but all new pools had to be outdoors. Belmont is 1960’s and news repair.
Ancient history. Sure ELAC was good back then, but not anymore. Belmont has had its day also but with so much dithering from the City of Long Beach, it has never been maintained properly. Plenty of money in LB too from the harbor department, oil refineries, Boeing, etc and a HUGE amount of taxation too boot. No excuse.
Wonder where they’ll end up hosting it. Hopefully the Belmont Plaza Pool will be ok, it has so much fast swimming in its history.
I’d like to see the PAC 12 cough up some extra money from football/television revenue directly to the teams involved for travel. It’s pretty tough to stay on budget at the 11th hour with air, hotel, van changes.