The City of Santa Ana celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Memorial Park Aquatics Center, a $29.3 million project that will completely transform and modernize the Memorial Park swimming pool originally built in 1956. Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vazquez, Councilmember Jessie Lopez, Councilmember David Penaloza, and City Manager Alvaro Nuñez led the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, April 5.
The new Memorial Aquatics Center Project consists of a complete demolition and rebuilding of the aquatics facility, including the existing building, pool, pool equipment building & adjacent site work. The architectural team leading the design effort included a former American competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist, who was instrumental in helping with pool design, programming and community outreach efforts. The project will also preserve and celebrate Chicano Gothic, by Emigdio Vasquez. Painted in 1987 for the existing pool facility, this important piece of Santa Ana’s culture will be reinforced and restored in its original location and incorporated into the overall park master plan. The effort gives greater prominence to the mural, turning it into an entry marker that welcomes people into the reimagined Memorial Park.
The new aquatics center will include:
- A new all electric building (which includes locker rooms)
- Lifeguard offices, staff offices, community room, and pool equipment room
- Two swimming pools (25m x 25yd competition pool and a “fun water” recreational pool)
- Pool deck with seating areas
- Improved exterior lighting, safety cameras, lighting fixtures, landscape, irrigation, site furnishings, entrance walkways, and meeting rooms
Thank you to the residents, community leaders, and project partners who joined us for the Memorial Park Aquatics Center groundbreaking. Your support helped launch one of Santa Ana’s most significant recreational projects in recent years. We look forward to gathering again for an even larger celebration when the new aquatics center opens in fall 2026.