Four years is a long time in kid years. Long enough that plenty of Adelaide children have no memory of Payneham pool at all, and plenty of parents have been driving further than they’d like for a decent Saturday swim.
That ends this spring. The Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre reopens in late September after a $64 million rebuild, and it’s not the pool anyone remembers. Three pools, two waterslides, a zero-depth splash play area and a 14-metre slide tower now sit on the site at 94 OG Road, Felixstow.
The grand opening is Saturday 10 October at 11am.
What’s inside the new Payneham pool
50-metre outdoor pool, heated year-round
Ten lanes means lap swimmers and families aren’t fighting over the same water. And the year-round heating is the detail that matters. This isn’t a pool that shuts down the moment the weather turns.
25-metre indoor pool
Eight lanes, indoors, open all year. Squad training, school carnivals and July swimming without anyone turning blue.
Warm water program pool
Eleven by twenty metres, this is the one for learners. It’s the home of BlueFit Swimming’s lesson program, and warm water makes an enormous difference to how long a four-year-old will actually stay in it.
Two waterslides
A 14-metre tower with two slides, which is the bit your kids will ask about first and the reason you’ll be there every second weekend over summer.
Zero-depth splash play
Shaded outdoor water play for the toddler end of the family. No depth, no floaties, no standing waist-deep supervising while your coffee goes cold.
Accessibility that actually makes a difference
Every pool has ramp or lift entry. There are aquatic wheelchairs available. The change rooms are all-access.
For families managing a disability, a wheelchair, or simply a grandparent who wants to get in the water with the grandkids, that changes what a day at the pool looks like. It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t make the highlight reel but makes the difference between going and not bothering.
Getting in early
Swim school places at a brand new centre with a dedicated warm water pool will go quickly. This is the eastern suburbs, and there are a lot of families who have spent four years driving to Norwood, Burnside or Adelaide Aquatic Centre instead.
The centre has a priority list you can join through its website for enrolment updates, pricing and opening day details, none of which had been published at the time of writing. If learn-to-swim is on your list for summer, getting on it now costs nothing.
The details
- Where: Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre, 94 OG Road, Felixstow
- Opening: Late September 2026
- Grand opening: Saturday 10 October, 11am
- Pools: 50m outdoor (heated year-round), 25m indoor, 11 x 20m warm water learner pool
- Also: Two waterslides on a 14m tower, zero-depth shaded splash play, kiosk, changerooms
- Accessibility: Ramp or lift entry to every pool, aquatic wheelchairs, all-access changerooms
- Pricing: Not yet released
Four years of driving somewhere else is nearly over. Time to dig the swimmers out of the bottom of the beach bag.
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