New Y Aquatic Center Opens

There’s usually a line waiting when the Sheridan YMCA opens at 5 a.m., but the line Monday morning seemed a bit bigger than usual, according to YMCA Executive Director Elisabeth Cassiday.

Monday was the opening day for the Y’s new Aquatic Center. A more formal opening, complete with ribbon-cutting, is planned for Friday, but Monday was a soft opening just for Y members to check out the new facilities.

There was plenty for them to take in, five new locker rooms and two pools, Cassiday said.

Cassiday said the new lap pool is nearly double the width of the old lap pool. The lanes in the old pool were too narrow, she said, so in addition to adding two more lanes, the Y made all of the lanes standard width.

She said the line of people visiting the new center was pretty constant throughout the day Monday.

The center adds 33,000 square feet to the building, and parts of the old building were also remodeled to accommodate the additional construction. Work also included a new drop-in child care, new front lobby and new entrance.