Oulu Water Sport Centre
On June 24, 2024, the Oulu City Board decided to build a new Oulu Water Sport Centre in place of the old Oulu Swimming Pool (Pikkukankaantie 3). The old Oulu Swimming Pool has been dismantled, and the construction of the new building is estimated to begin in the summer of 2026. The schedule of the construction will be uncovered later in the spring of 2026 after contract tendering.
The project has progressed as planned and the city plan enabling the construction was confirmed on December 23, 2025. Oulu City Council decided on November 10, 2025, that the Water Sport Centre will include at least 215 parking spots based on the Urban Environmental Committee’s decision. The plot is expected to include 216 parking spots, with 8 additional accessible parking spots.
Oulu Water Sport Centre will be one of the largest of its kind in Finland. The project’s estimated cost is 80 million € (0 % VAT).
The Water Sport Centre’s floors
Base floor
The building’s base floor includes the main entrance, staff facilities, fitness gym, combat gym, and their dressing rooms and showers. Also, the base floor includes the pools’ engineering facilities and other engineering facilities.
Floor 1
The primary swimming pool facilities are located on floor 1. The building’s pool area will include 10-lane pools of 50 meters and 25 meters, a deep multi-purpose pool, a multi-purpose pool, children’s shallow pool, two-part deeper children’s pool, cold-water pool, and a water slide.
On top of main dressing rooms for men and women, the facility will include an accessible dressing room and gender-neutral dressing rooms and washing rooms. The facility will include eight saunas.
The 50-meter pool includes a removable connecting platform. The pool can be divided into sections, creating a maximum of 20 lanes for different user groups. A total of 38 25-meter lanes can be arranged.
The jump tower has jumping heights of 1 m, 3 m, 5 m, 7,5 m, and 10 m. There are springboards on heights two at 3 m, two at 1 m, and one at 0,6 m.
The main dressing rooms are designed so that during competitions, dressing rooms can be sectioned off for regular swimmers. The 50-meter pool room and the deep multi-purpose pool are separate spaces, so during competitions, all swimmers can still use the Water Sport Centre.
Floor 2
The building’s highest floor (floor 2) includes the exercise gym and health exercise gym, as well as most office facilities. The evening use of these facilities is possible via a separate entrance and with elevator or stairs. Separate dressing and washing rooms are located on floor 2. The second floor of the pool area includes audience stands, commentator booths, and some engineering facilities. The 50-meter pool and the deep multi-purpose pool (jump tower and springboards) have separate audience stands. The stands are designed so that 540 people fit into the 50-meter pool’s stands, and 220 people fit into the deep multi-purpose pool’s stands.
Accessibility
The building’s accessibility has been a special focus area from organizing the yard area to indoor details. For example, the building includes spaces for guide dogs. Accessibility has been considered in entrances, traffic routes, doors, elevators, moving conveyors and escalators, dressing rooms, washing rooms, pool areas, accessible toilets, audience stands, service points, induction and audibility solutions, and signposts.
The pool area’s accessibility is ensured with colors and lights that help with direction. There are multiple pool lifts in the pool areas. Fixed independently used pool lifts (platform lifts) will be located at the 25-meter and 50-meter pools as well as the multi-purpose pool. Also, one mobile battery-powered pool lift is also available.
Accessibility also serves the needs of the elderly. The use of the facilities has been designed to be as easy as possible, for example, with the use of wristbands.
Parking
The new Water Sport Centre will be built on the northern corner of the plot, where the previous Swimming Pool used to be located. The new Water Sport Centre is larger than the previous and will be partially located on the previous parking area.
There will be pedestrian paths leading through the parking area to the main entrance. There is plenty of space for safe drop-off traffic. Service traffic is separate from foot traffic. Waste management and kitchen delivery vehicles use a different area than customers. Chemical deliveries are received separately at the service area via other routes. The building’s transformer will be located in the service area.
Read more about the project’s progress on the Finnish website.
