Conceptual renderingThe Colorado Aquatic Center
More Room to Learn.
Heal. Train. Compete.Douglas County’s First
50-Meter Pool.
Two complementary pools designed for water safety, instruction, therapy, fitness, competitive aquatics, and public safety training.
Planned alongside the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex. Independently developed, funded, and operated by Colorado Aquatics Foundation.
The opportunity is here. Now we need your help to build it.
A place worth building. A project that still needs your support.
The Colorado Aquatic Center is planned, but not yet funded for construction. Colorado Aquatics Foundation is raising the capital needed to turn this opportunity into a community resource.
Douglas County has selected Colorado Aquatics Foundation as its aquatics development partner for the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex.
The Foundation is independently working to develop, fund, and operate the planned Colorado Aquatic Center alongside the larger development.
Douglas County is making land available for the planned Colorado Aquatic Center through an anticipated long-term recreational lease at the Zebulon Regional Sports Complex. Developing alongside Zebulon lets the aquatic center benefit from coordinated site development, planned infrastructure, and shared building efficiencies, a substantial contribution to making the project financially achievable.
25 Yards and 50 Meters
The Colorado Aquatic Center is planned as its own wing attached to the Zebulon building. The current concept includes a 10-lane, 50-meter pool that can provide 22 short-course lanes, along with a separate four-lane, 25-yard instructional pool planned for water safety instruction, therapy and rehabilitation, adaptive programming, and specialized training. It is planned as a public-access facility, with membership and daily drop-in options for individuals and families.
Subject to change pending design, engineering, and Douglas County review.
The 25-Yard Pool
Conceptual rendering of the Colorado Aquatic Center instructional pool. Subject to change pending design, engineering, and Douglas County review.
Planned home for water safety and swim instruction, aquatic therapy and rehabilitation, adaptive aquatic programming, and fitness and community use.
The 50-Meter Pool
Conceptual rendering of the Colorado Aquatic Center competition pool. Subject to change pending design, engineering, and Douglas County review.
Planned to support competitive swimming and training, water polo and artistic swimming, springboard diving, scuba and specialized aquatic training, and public-safety and emergency-response training.
Planned capabilities and potential uses. Final programming is not yet confirmed.
A Place for All of Us.
This isn't just about building another pool.
It's about a child discovering confidence in the water. An adult rebuilding strength and mobility. A first responder preparing for an emergency. An athlete discovering what they're capable of.
Different reasons for walking through the doors. One place built to make room for all of them.
The mission is bigger than the building, and the Colorado Aquatic Center is how we make more of it possible.
That's the Colorado Aquatic Center we're working to build.
Programming example. Not the Colorado Aquatic Center.
Growing Communities. Limited Water.
Schools, swim clubs, families, and community programs are competing for limited aquatic space in a region that continues to grow. Douglas County still has no 50-meter aquatic facility.
The gold-ringed marker shows the planned Colorado Aquatic Center site at Zebulon. All existing 50-meter pools shown are outside Douglas County.
Map Legend
* 15 minute drive from CAC to I-25 and C-470
* Less than 20 minute drive from CAC to E-470 and Parker Road
Where Demand Meets Limited Access
- Many USA Swimming club facilities and summer league pools across the metro area fall within the regional draw of this site.
- Those same pools are doing heavy lifting for their communities, serving clubs, school teams, lessons and everyday uses like lap swim, therapy and family recreation. Because so many programs share the same water, lane space, practice times and meet schedules are often shaped by availability rather than community need.
- For families who need true 50 meter training, there is still no public long-course pool in the south metro, so they must travel to a handful of distant facilities.
The Colorado Aquatic Center gives those communities room to breathe, so clubs, schools, lessons, and public programs can grow side by side.
"For many Denver families, swim lessons are not easy to access. Programs fill up fast, and some families wait months for an opening."
Site Work Is Underway at Zebulon
Earthmovers are shaping the Zebulon campus where the Colorado Aquatic Center is planned. This is Zebulon campus site work: construction of the Colorado Aquatic Center itself has not yet begun and depends on CAF independently advancing its funding, design and permitting.
Zebulon Site Photo | July 2026
Zebulon Site Photo | July 2026Advancing our Phase 1 campaign now helps preserve the opportunity to build the Colorado Aquatic Center alongside Zebulon, rather than coming back later at potentially greater cost.
A Smarter Way to Build
$11.5M–$13M
Current estimated project cost
$28M–$30M
Preliminary industry estimate
Preliminary planning estimates, not construction bids. Actual costs remain subject to design and development.
Building alongside Zebulon gives us an opportunity to reduce construction costs through coordinated design, shared infrastructure, and construction happening together. That opportunity is why Phase 1 funding matters now. Missing a fundraising milestone would not automatically end the project, but delays could extend the timeline, increase costs, and reduce those efficiencies.
- Shared building walls reduce construction costs.
- Coordinated construction could reduce contractor mobilization costs.
- Waste heat from Zebulon's ice-making equipment could supplement pool heating.
Architectural & Engineering Design
Fund coordinated architectural and engineering design.
Custom-Fabricated Structural Steel
Fund the custom structural steel order.
Permitting
Advance required permitting and reviews.
Questions Donors Ask
Want to Dig Deeper?
Explore the public documents and research behind the project.
Help Build the Place We've Been Missing.
For years, families, schools, teams and aquatic programs have made do with whatever pool space they could find.
Now we can change that.
Your Phase 1 gift helps move the Colorado Aquatic Center from plans toward a facility people can walk into, learn in, train in, compete in and call home.
Help make it happen.
Phase 1 is our current fundraising priority. Donations are unrestricted and support Colorado Aquatics Foundation’s charitable mission. Gifts may be tax deductible. Colorado Aquatics Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 93-2929414.