Lawrence outdoor aquatic center opening delayed to June 1

Families who planned Memorial Day around a first swim at Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center will have to reset the calendar. The city said Friday the pool at 727 Kentucky St. will open Monday, June 1, giving parents, youth groups and regular swimmers a one-week delay at the start of summer.

The delay is tied to renovation work now underway at the city pool, which last was renovated in 1995. Officials are splitting the project into two phases to avoid overlap and limit disruption. The first phase focuses on building improvements such as restrooms, locker rooms and the main entrance, while a later phase will address the aquatic area after the summer swim season ends. The city said the timeline was adjusted in part to accommodate the nearby Jayhawk Watershed Project, including stormwater upgrades that have closed Tennessee Street between Sixth and Ninth streets.

For families, the change ripples through the first week of warm-weather routines. It affects swim plans, childcare backstops and the informal schedule many households build around Lawrence’s outdoor pool opening. The splash pads at Lyons Park in North Lawrence and at Burroughs Creek Trail and Linear Park in East Lawrence will open Tuesday, May 26, and run daily from noon to 8 p.m. They offer a free, lower-cost way for children to cool off, but they are not a full substitute for the aquatic center for parents counting on supervised water play, older swimmers who use lap lanes or summer-program coordinators trying to line up the first days of camp.

The renovation itself has been shaped by years of public debate over how much of the pool to keep and how much to change. In August 2024, the city approved a concept that included a lazy river, a 2,300-square-foot splash pad and a shallow pool, but that version drew concern because it reduced pool area and prompted about 1,700 people to sign a petition urging the city to reconsider. By late 2025, the current renovation concept had been estimated at just over $4.7 million, down from the $6.1 million concept approved in 2024.

Public feedback also pushed the design in a different direction. During the January 2025 review process, the city received 351 survey responses and heard from 50 people at in-person sessions. Water benches ranked as the top amenity, toddler benches with shade came in second, and 70% of respondents preferred a shallow-pool option with a slight curve.

The approved concept keeps the existing deep dive pool, a 25-meter lap-pool section and the water slide and plunge pool. It also calls for rehabilitating the pool space, separating the shallow pool from the main pool and adding an ADA ramp entry. With the June 1 opening, Lawrence buys crews more time on the building work now and pushes the larger aquatic overhaul to after the season, when the city can absorb the disruption with less impact on summer routines.