The University of Michigan-Flint closed its pool in July 2025, two months after officials announced the move. Administrators said the decision came down to operating costs, deferred maintenance and years of low student use. No final plan has been announced, however, university leaders said the former pool area could be repurposed, with ideas ranging from a more central esports lab to a possible bookstore relocation.
“It’s not an easy decision because it will affect people, but we thought it was the most responsible decision to make.” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Christopher Giordano, said on the closure of the swimming pool.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most university facilities shut down, but the pool still required costly maintenance to remain operational. In that period, the administration began re-evaluating programs across student affairs to determine how the university could keep meeting students’ needs while operating efficiently within budget constraints.
In 2023, the review broadened into a three-campus master planning process. UM-Flint hired SmithGroup, an international architectural firm, to measure how the university uses space and how much energy different facilities consume.
The pool stood out for its high energy demand, prompting leaders to compare energy data with utilization and ask whether the operating burden matched student use.
As it turned out, it did not. Community members made a majority of pool usage. “It uses a lot of energy, it costs a lot of money to operate, it needs a lot of repairs and our students aren’t using it very much,” Giordano said.
Recreational Services Director Julia Stulock said that day-to-day operations cost more than the pool brought in, even before major repairs.
Stulock said that UM-Flint’s commuter-campus schedule likely limited student use because swimming takes extra time, from bringing gear to changing between classes. She added that the pool’s location and access route didn’t help, and some students said they felt out of place sharing lanes with older community members.
With the pool closed, Recreational Services no longer controls the space, Stulock said. For now, ideas include moving the esports lab into the former pool area, relocating the bookstore or creating a student health and well-being space. Central location for the esports lab could make it easier for students to reach and help the program grow, Giordano said.
The university expects the facilities assessment and campuswide space utilization study report in April 2026.
In July 2025, protesters gathered outside French Hall and coordinated with the Department of Public Safety on where they could stand, Stulock said. She added the demonstration stayed peaceful, with swimmers arguing the pool was more than a facility and asking the university to reconsider.
“People can be upset and protest, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will then change my decision,” Giordano said.
