Manchester Aquatics Centre

53°28′10″N 2°14′08″W / 53.46944°N 2.23556°W / 53.46944; -2.23556

Manchester Aquatics Centre
MAC
Building information
Full nameManchester Aquatics Centre
CityManchester, England
Capacityapprox. 1,000
Built1996–2000
Opened12 October 2000; 24 years ago (2000-10-12)
Architect(s)FaulknerBrowns Architects
Home club(s)
  • City of Manchester Aquatics Swim Team
  • City of Manchester Water Polo Club
  • University of Manchester Swimming Club
  • University of Manchester Canoe Club
  • Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC) Dive Team
Pools
Name Length Width Depth Lanes
Main pool 50 m (160 ft) 21 m (69 ft) 0–2 m (6 ft 7 in) 8
Diving pool 25 m (82 ft) ~25 m (82 ft) 0–5.1 m (17 ft) 6
Leisure pool N/A N/A N/A N/A
Training pool 50 m (160 ft) 16 m (52 ft) 0–1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) 4

The Manchester Aquatics Centre, abbreviated MAC, is a public aquatics sports facility south of the city centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester near Manchester Metropolitan University. It was purpose built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games,[1] and cost £32 million to build.[2]

Before it was built, for many years its site was open waste ground, left by demolishing inner city industrial terrace houses. The building was designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects. The building takes the approximate shape of an asymmetric trapezoidal prism (the apex provides clearance above the highest diving board), and from the outside, the roof resembles a wave.

Construction started in August 1996, and was completed in July 2000,[3] with finishing touches made in September 2001. MAC hosts many swimming and water polo events but also hosts Lancashire County Championships and Age group North west Regionals for swimming.[4] It was opened on 12 October 2000, by Queen Elizabeth II.[5] The pool was closed in 2021 for major refurbishment works over the following two years.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference city_council was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "BBC Sport - Commonwealth Games 2002 - Venue Guide - Manchester Aquatics Centre". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference arup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Manchester Aquatics Centre Prepares for 2002". SportBusiness.com. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  5. ^ Bremner, Charles; Robertson, David (13 October 2000). "Court circular". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  6. ^ Robson, Steve (26 November 2021). "First images of Manchester Aquatics Centre £31m refurb as pool closes until 2023". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 May 2022.