Georgia Tech is in the process of renovating its football locker room, but the project hit a snag when contractors discovered a long-forgotten swimming pool under the ground.
“They weren’t ready for (the pool) because it didn’t show up on any renderings, maps,” Georgia Tech AD Todd Stansbury told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The old pool was a surprise they weren’t ready for.”
The 25-yard natatorium, part of a gym named after former Ramblin’ Wreck football coach John Heisman, was installed in 1938 at request of the U.S. Navy for a drownproofing class, where students would learn how to remain afloat “for a prolonged period of time with their hand and feet bound.” The class was a requirement for graduation from 1940 through 1986 -- which means Stansbury, himself a 1984 Tech graduate, would have taken the class.
A Georgia Tech spokesman told the AJC that the pool discovery would not delay the $4.5 million locker room renovation project. The locker room is expected to open in time for preseason camp in August.