Storied aquatic facility Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center is about to undergo some major changes over the next several years.
At an expenditure approaching the 165 million yen mark ($1.4 million USD), the facility that hosted the water polo competition at this summer’s Olympic Games will be converted into a year-round public ice rink. The project’s estimated completion is set for the year 2025.
Tatsumi opened in 1993 with the purpose of widely promoting the sport of swimming and building an overall healthy lifestyle for Japanese constituents.
Its history includes seeing two long course and one short course world record being broken within its pool walls. Kosuke Kitajima hit his 2:07.51 WR in the LCM 200 breast in 2008 while Ippei Watanabe logged his 2:06.67 WR in the same event in 2017. Yuko Nakanishi hit a women’s SCM 200 fly mark of 2:03.12 in 2008 for a new WR.
In 2011, Tatsumi was closed for damage to movable floor of the main pool, caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, while additional renovations took place in 2018.
Talks of Tatsumi being turned into an ice rink had been around since 2019. The Japan Times reported then that the Tokyo metropolitan government was looking into three future scenarios for the Tatsumi facility, keeping it as a pool or converting it into an ice arena or a gym.
Don’t need two international sized swimming venues within three blocks of each other
I remember when it was brand spanking new…and then the international pool before it was converted…life goes on and on:-)
The Ice Skater Cometh – A play about a group of swammers who meet at a swimming website every night conning each other out of up votes and waiting for a comment to their post from the chief, Braden. Braden is tired of all the down votes and wants everyone to stop voting altogether. Braden jokes about how his parter, Mel, is going to turn the website into an ice skating website, but it is actually Braden who has been ice skating nights and weekends. Braden changes Mel’s password and transfers the domain template to scudscudded.com.
This
Must be a conspiracy of some sort!
Call in the DOJ, or better – FINA – that way nothing will be done!
FBI has been handed the dossier on young female Russian ice skaters . Evidence DJT was in Moscow in 2013 & by Feb 2014 they began winning everything .
The Japanese paid for it; they can turn it into a cotton candy museum if they want!
However, the pool is a long-term asset, and the records created there speak for themselves as to sports history and value. KEEP THE POOL!
It is a nice pool indeed. Nationals there was amazing
Awesome