New Kuehn Park Aquatic Center Construction Officially Begins

Published on April 21, 2026

Sioux Falls' only outdoor aquatic center west of Interstate 29 is about to get a major upgrade, and City of Sioux Falls and local leaders officially celebrated the project’s construction start with a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.

The new Kuehn Park Aquatic Center will replace the current Kuehn Park pool, which is more than 40 years old, and will double its current capacity to nearly 700 patrons. Once complete, the facility will be the city’s largest outdoor aquatic center.

“The new Kuehn Park Aquatic Center will be an incredible upgrade for the westside community and reflects years of community input and design,” said Brett Kollars, interim director for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “The new outdoor aquatic center will be a great complement to the indoor recreational opportunities at the Westside Recreation Center. Residents have consistently asked for these types of amenities and recreational opportunities in their neighborhoods, and we are proud to deliver these community gathering spaces that will be enjoyed for decades to come.”

The new facility will be located on the east edge of Kuehn Park, near Valley View Road and Oscar Howe Elementary, and will feature a fitness pool for lap swimming and diving boards, a lazy river and an activities pool that starts at zero-depth and goes to 2 feet, including water slides, spray and crossing features and a rock climbing wall. The project’s budget is $15.4 million.

Planning for the new facility began in 2020 when the Parks and Recreation System Plan identified a need to replace the aging pools at Frank Olson Park, Kuehn Park and McKennan Park. From there, the city solicited input from the community and respective neighborhoods for each park, resulting in a multi-phase master plan for Kuehn Park that will include the outdoor aquatic facility in its first phase and enhancements to the softball fields and other amenities in later phases. The funding package of improvements for the aging pools were referred to as the aquatics bond. The Sioux Falls City Council approved the aquatics bond in January 2025.

The project is anticipated to be complete next summer. The current Kuehn Park pool will be open during the regular summer swimming season. The northeast area of the park and trail loop is currently closed and will remain closed throughout project construction.

To learn more about the project, visit siouxfalls.gov/kuehnparkaquatics.