Manchester Aquatics Centre
Built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Aquatics Centre on Oxford Road hosts elite swimming and diving - and is open to the public to swim in.
The Manchester Aquatics Centre opened in 2000 as part of the city’s 2002 Commonwealth Games build-out, the same wave of investment that gave east Manchester the Etihad and the velodrome. Sitting on Oxford Road in the heart of the university district, it has two 50-metre Olympic pools, a diving pool with full tower, and the facilities to host elite national and international meets.
Crucially, it is a public facility. Between elite training blocks and competitions, the pools are open for lane swimming, lessons and family sessions, which means ordinary Mancunians can swim in a genuine Olympic-standard pool a short walk from the city centre. The diving boards, when accessible, are a particular novelty. The centre is also a major base for the city’s student swimming, water polo and triathlon communities.
On Oxford Road, it is one of the most central sporting venues in the city, walkable from Piccadilly and on every bus route south. For swimmers visiting Manchester, it is the obvious place to keep training.