For nearly four weeks, the 50-meter pool inside Northwestern University's Henry Crown Sports Pavilion has sat empty. Community members paying $635 a year for recreation access, students training for fall fitness and the university's varsity swim teams have all been locked out since floodwaters swamped the Norris Aquatics Center's mechanical room on Monday, July 27.

Now there's a target date. Northwestern's recreation website posted an update Wednesday, Aug. 19, saying the pool would reopen soon after Labor Day, which falls on Monday, Sept. 7. The university has not announced a specific date.

The closure traces back to the severe thunderstorm outbreak that hammered Evanston on Monday, July 27, bringing flash flooding, hail and damaging winds. The National Weather Service confirmed seven tornadoes across the Chicago region that day, with gusts reaching 104 mph. In Evanston alone, about 7,021 ComEd customers lost power and the city fielded more than 1,000 service calls, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

Two days after the storm, on July 29, the university posted a notice saying heavy flooding had hit the pool's mechanical room and that the full extent of the damage was still unknown. Evanston Now reported that several pumps and control panels would likely need to be replaced.

The Norris Aquatics Center, at 2311 Campus Drive, houses a 25-yard by 50-meter pool that serves Northwestern's varsity swimming and diving teams, students and community members through lap swimming, lessons and water aerobics. Community residents can purchase annual memberships for individual access.

Coach Rachel Stratton-Mills enters her fourth season leading both swim programs this fall without access to the team's home pool. The men's squad placed 26th at the 2026 NCAA Championships, the program's best finish since 2008, according to the Daily Northwestern.

The pool last underwent major work in 2012, when the university replaced the deck, refurbished bleachers and updated electrical wiring. Swimmers looking for a reopening date can check the NU Recreation pool closings page for updates.