"We really wanted to bring the fun," Steve Neill, the Glenview Park District's division director of recreation and museum services, told the Journal & Topics ahead of the September 19 ribbon cutting at Splash Landings. The fun is real. There's a taller slide, a reworked play structure, and water features that shoot up from the deck.
The core of the project, though, was the pool's air and water systems, the equipment that makes an indoor pool comfortable to sit next to on a dark January afternoon. The coming winter will be the first one Splash runs on those new systems, and that's the main thing that changed for anyone who plans to spend Saturdays there between now and March.
Where the $10 million went
The Journal & Topics put the overall budget at $10 million. That figure includes $6.8 million in direct construction costs plus design and engineering fees. State grants covered $3.3 million of it: $2.8 million from the Park and Recreational Facilities Construction program and $500,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Park District's own Splash page says the PARC grant is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. That means roughly a third of the bill came from Springfield rather than from local sources.
Planning started in 2023. According to the Journal & Topics, demolition began in January, and construction got going once the Illinois Department of Public Health issued permits in February. W.B. Olson Inc. managed construction, and park commissioners awarded 13 separate trade bid packages. The Journal & Topics describes the renovation as ten months long. The Park District's reopening page calls it a nine-month closure. Either way, Splash was closed for most of a year.
Why the air was the real problem
Many of the original mechanical systems at Splash were built in 1999. According to Neill, they had reached the end of their lifespan, and airborne chlorine had corroded windows and metal fixtures throughout the building over the years.
The rebuild addressed that in three ways the Journal & Topics described:
- Separate controls for each pool. The main pool and the lap pool now have their own water, temperature and chemical controls. Each pool can now be set for its own use, with one setting for little kids in the activity pool and another for lap swimmers.
- Air-handling evacuation benches. Two benches were installed that are designed to eliminate chlorine odors. If you're the parent sitting on the deck for an hour, this is the change you'll notice most.
- Replaced mechanicals. Most of the equipment behind the walls is new.
There's also a nice bit of continuity. Neill told the paper that some of the contractors and individual workers who built the original facility in 1999 came back to work on the renovation.
What's new in the water
Once the building could breathe again, the Park District added the features people will actually use. On the Splash facility page, the District lists:
- Zero-depth activity pool, sloping to 3½ feet, with a reimagined interactive play structure aimed at younger swimmers and families.
- Water slide, now taller and faster, extending over the pool with dark and translucent sections. The Journal & Topics reported that it ends on the pool deck.
- Lap pool with six lanes at 25 yards, used for laps, swim lessons and aqua fitness.
- Warm water therapy pool, fully refurbished, open during designated hours.
- Whirlpool.
- Accessible family changing areas, which the Journal & Topics says include adult changing tables.
The Journal & Topics also counted 27 water geysers and a dump bucket among the new features. For a preschooler, that bucket may be the whole reason to go.
The schedule fits around school, not the weekend
Here are the public swim hours on the Park District's September 2026 schedule flier. Public swim covers the activity pool and slide, plus two lap lanes set aside for public swimmers.
| Day | Public Swim | Lap Swim |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 4:30 to 8 p.m. | 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. | 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 7:15 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. | 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 7:15 p.m. |
| Thursday | 4:30 to 8 p.m. | 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 4:30 to 8 p.m. | 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Saturday | 1 to 4 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Sunday | 1 to 4 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
On weekdays, public swim opens after school. On weekends, it runs for three hours in the early afternoon, so families who go on Saturday are all packed into the same window. Group lessons started October 6 and meet weekly through mid-December, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. and on weekend mornings from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The District notes that lessons and other programs can cut into lane availability. Weekend lap swimmers who come in before 1 p.m. may share the water with lesson groups.
Hours change around the holidays. The Park District posts them on a separate holiday hours page, and that's the page to check before planning a swim on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve or the day after Thanksgiving.
The fee covers the deck, not the water
Daily admission is $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. The District calls this a facility entrance fee rather than a swimming fee, so anyone who walks onto the pool deck pays it, including parents, guardians and spectators who never get in the water. The exception is people using an eligible Park Center Health & Fitness membership or a Punch Pass. Children under 24 months get in free during public swim when they come with a paying adult. To get the resident rate, bring a valid photo ID.
That's why the 20-Visit Punch Pass is the better deal for most families. It costs $140 for residents, or $7 a visit, and $240 for nonresidents, or $12 a visit. Anyone in the household can draw from the same balance. A resident family of four pays $40 at the door for one public swim, and the same trip costs $28 in punches. The pass works for public swim, lap swim and warm water therapy, so one parent's 6 a.m. laps and the whole family's Sunday afternoon come out of the same pass. It expires one year after purchase, and unused visits can't be refunded or extended. Twenty visits fill up quickly when every person counts as one.
The supervision rules also affect who comes along. Children under 9, and swimmers of any age who need a life jacket, must be supervised by someone 16 or older who is in the water and within arm's reach. A parent watching from the bench doesn't meet that rule for a 7-year-old, so plan to bring a swimsuit as well as the admission. Lap swim is for ages 13 and up. Younger swimmers need a manager's approval and must pass a fitness-based swim assessment.
Private lessons run 30 minutes for one swimmer and cost $38 for residents and $48 for nonresidents. The District says availability is extremely limited and asks for at least 24 hours' notice to cancel.
Two Saturdays to pair with a swim at Park Center
Splash is inside Park Center, and the Park District has scheduled two Saturday events in the same building that line up well with the weekend public swim window.
- Saturday, November 21: Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot, then a swim. The Turkey Shoot runs from 9 to 11 a.m. at Park Center. Adult and child teams, with kids ages 8 to 13, shoot free throws to win a turkey. Get lunch, then come back for public swim when it opens at 1 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5: a swim, then the Festival of Trees. Public swim runs from 1 to 4 p.m., and the 5th Annual Festival of Trees starts at Park Center at 4. The festival is presented by Light Keeper Pro and runs until 6 p.m. Admission is $5 a person, and children 2 and under get in free. Decorated trees fill the hallways, and visitors vote for their favorites. There are photos with Santa Claus and the Grinch, carols from the Glenbrook South Chamber Singers and The Caroling Party, and crafts for kids. The trees stay up through the end of December, so any weekday public swim in December also takes you down hallways lined with them.
If you want something outside Park Center, the Grove Heritage Association Holiday Market runs November 12 to 15 at The Grove, with more than 20 artisans and an outdoor light display. For more on what's changing in town, see our look at what's new in downtown Glenview and our Glenview neighborhood page.
At Payes Real Estate Group, we pay attention to what a building needs behind the walls, because that's where most of the cost of a renovation goes, at Splash and in houses alike. If you're weighing a project on your own Glenview home and want help deciding which work comes first, let's talk. Work With Us.
