When the Sydney Aquatic Centre opened in October, 1994, the IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch described it as the best swimming pool he had ever seen.

The Aquatic Centre is located at Homebush Bay, 22 minutes from the centre of Sydney, and can easily be reached by public and private transport.

The centre's facilities include :

• A 33 x 25 metre utility pool, including facilities for diving, synchronised swimming and water polo
• A 10-lane 50 x 25 metre competition pool
• An 8-lane 50 x 18.2 metre pool, for training
• Garden, sauna, steam rooms, spa and leisure pools
• Gymnasium and cardio theatre

The competition hall, with its main diving and 10 lane pools, is overlooked by 4400 seats. The leisure area contains play pools, spas, a rapid river ride, fountains, spray jets and a waterslide.The training pool nearby has a moveable floor which can be raised or lowered to accommodate many activities.

Special design features

• Five levels of lighting in the competition hall
• A moveable bulkhead enabling the competition pool to be split into two smaller 25 metre pools for short events
• Hearing loops to enable people with hearing impairments to listen to commentary
• An access hoist, lift and walk-in leisure pools
• Underwater viewing windows in the competition area
• Leisure pool murals by artist Colin Lancely

This year, the capacity of the competition hall will be increased by 4,400 to 15,000 seats in readiness for the Games.

The Centre is located very near to the Olympic Park Station. It provides parking for 500 cars, four hours free parking, and free coach parking. During the games, however, there will be no public parking.