Construction delays have pushed the debut of Iowa City’s new public pool to 2027, the Parks and Recreation Department announced Friday afternoon.
Last summer was the first time since Harry Truman was president that there was no outdoor public pool open in Iowa City. City Park Pool, which had been a central part of local summers since it opened in 1949, was being demolished to make way for a new pool complex on its site.
Before the pool closed its gates for the final time at the end of the 2024 season, Iowa Citians were told construction on the pool complex — featuring “a zero-depth [entrance] leisure pool, six 50-meter lap lane pool, diving tank with low and high diving boards and new bath and filter house,” as Iowa City Parks and Recreation described it — would be finished in April 2026, with a grand opening the following month.
As May drew to a close, it was obvious the opening wouldn’t happen on schedule. Parks and Recreation confirmed this with a post on social media Friday, also the last day of school for the Iowa City Community School District.
“Due to ongoing construction delays, City Park Pool will not open in 2026 and is now expected to open in 2027,” the department said in its post. “We know this news is disappointing, and we sincerely apologize to everyone who has been looking forward to making memories at the new facility this summer.”
The post featured a video of a hard-hatted Parks and Rec Director Juli Seydell Johnson showing the progress that’s been made on the new facility. Replacing City Park Pool is a major part of the Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan approved by the Iowa City Council in 2022.
After more than seven decades of use, City Park Pool was showing its age. There were cracks and chips in the pool’s surfaces, and on parts of its deck. It was leaking badly. In 2022, Parks and Rec estimated the pool was losing 30,000 gallons of water every day. Parts of the facility weren’t in compliance with accessibility standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The proposal by Parks and Rec to completely scrap and replace City Park Pool was met with fierce resistance from a wide-range of members of the community, including many who frequently used the pool. Opponents argued the existing pool should be preserved and repaired with the necessary changes made to bring it into compliance with the ADA. After multiple meetings with much public comment, the Iowa City Council decided to go with the multi-pool design proposed by Parks and Rec.
City Park Pool was the first public pool opened in Iowa City. During the 1920s and ’30s, cities across the country began building pools for their residents. Years of public pressure in Iowa City finally convinced the city council to propose a $62,500 bond issue for a pool in 1941. Voters overwhelmingly approved it, but the project never got off the ground, because three months after the election, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. entered World War II. The bond money stayed in the city’s bank account.
After the war, revised estimates added $40,000 to the project’s cost. City leaders balked at the new price. It took the death of Keith Howell in 1947 to change things.
In the late spring of 1947, the Iowa River surged over its banks, flooding lower City Park. On June 5, 10-year-old Keith and a friend were playing in the flooded area. Neither could swim. Keith got on top of a floating log that carried him into deeper water. He slipped off and drowned before his friend could get help.
The Daily Iowan responded to Keith’s death by launching a campaign to get the pool built with a front-page editorial titled, “How Much Is a Child’s Life Worth?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Iowa City, could your child swim if he were suddenly faced with a life-and-death struggle in the water?” editor R. Bruce Hughes wrote. “How much would it be worth to you to know at least he would have the chance Keith Howell didn’t?”
Community-wide fundraising efforts began. The city council relented, and a new bond issue was put on the ballot that fall. It passed.
City Park Pool opened on June 11, 1949. Admission was 40 cents for adults, 15 cents for children. According to the DI, 1,100 people visited the pool on opening day.
City Park Pool remained popular until it finally closed down two years ago.
“While this delay is frustrating, we’re committed to getting the project right,” Parks and Rec said in its announcement on Friday. “The new City Park Pool will offer expanded aquatic opportunities, improved accessibility, and modern amenities that will serve our community for decades to come.”
Iowa City’s other two pools — at Robert A. Lee Recreation Center and Mercer Park Aquatic Center — will be open this summer. Both are indoor pools.
