The Filling Begins At Goodwill Games Swimming Pool

FEDERAL WAY

The Goodwill Games swimming pool in West Campus is filling with water for the first time - at a rate that will take three to five days to complete.

After eight dignitaries ceremoniously splashed the bottom of the competition pool with bucketfuls of water yesterday, workers began pumping water into the pool from the bottom up. The small puddle that first formed in the center of the pool will grow continuously until Friday or Saturday, when the 927,000-gallon cavity is filled.

``The only event that I think will be more important than this is the gun sounding on the first event,'' said David Sabey, the developer who agreed to build the pool at no profit to himself.

The $16.3 million aquatics center, on Southwest Campus Drive, is scheduled for completion in March. Standing eight stories tall from the its pool depth to the ridge of its A-frame roof, the center contains a 50-meter, eight-lane competition pool, a 17-foot-deep diving tank and a separate recreational pool. Bleacher seating will hold 2,400 spectators.

The center will be the only legacy left by the 17-day Goodwill Games after they close Aug. 5. After the Games, the center will be available for competitions and public use.

``This is a Chamber of Commerce dream come true,'' said Bob Green, president of the Federal Way chamber. ``Economically it's going to pay dividends for years to come.''

The Goodwill Games pool, also called the King County Aquatics Center because the county contributed $8.8 million to its construction, is one of only three world-class pools in the nation. The two others are in Indianapolis and Austin, Texas.

Already, Sabey said, four swimming and diving meets are scheduled at the pool before the Games open July 20. The events are:

-- U.S. Synchronized Swimming national meet and team trials, April 15-22.

-- Pacific Northwest Swim Association's masters' meet, April 27-29.

-- Region 12 Senior Circuit meet, May 5-6.

-- Pacific Coast Invitational diving meet, May 25-27.

Goodwill Games tickets are sold out for nearly all of the scheduled swimming events.