00:02For five years, Sydney's swimmers have been locked out of the North Sydney pool.
00:08From August, they can finally get back in the water.
00:12And there's a long list of new features, extra lanes and program space, a sauna, steam room,
00:19an expanded gym, kids' play areas and of course the original Art Deco arches.
00:24I'm really excited to have the community come back in to this finished product. It would be fantastic.
00:30The renovation began in 2021. It was expected to take two years and cost $57 million.
00:38The final price tag is almost double that.
00:41I was a very strong advocate that it be a much smaller scale, less costly project.
00:49But the fact is we're here and this is what we have.
00:53And I think if you come here you'll see that there's $120 million that has been spent here.
00:58You can see it.
00:59All we remember is it just being empty every time we've come past, but it looks great now.
01:03It's constantly been changing, sort of every month there's going to be another month,
01:06there's going to be another month. So to have an opening day is very exciting.
01:09Come summertime, this historic 50 metre pool will also feature a massive inflatable obstacle course.
01:16The council's hoping additions like that will help convince visitors young and old
01:20that the renovation's been worth it. It originally opened in 1936. Over its life the pool has hosted 86
01:29international records, more than any other spot in the world. With new swim squads poised to dive in,
01:36there may be more of those to come.
01:38There we are.
01:38That's a good idea.
01:39Very good idea.
01:39The floor is on the ground.
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