25 May 2026
North Sydney Olympic Pool will reopen to the public on 7 August 2026 after formally reaching practical completion, North Sydney mayor Zoë Baker told councillors tonight.
Baker said the pool had officially reached practical completion on Friday 22 May, with the formal handover from the construction contractor to council now completed.
“The keys are with council staff,” Baker told the meeting.
The announcement gives the council a fixed public reopening date for the long-delayed project, although North Sydney Council has still not confirmed its final cost. Council has said the project could exceed the $122m budget set in 2024 once variations are included. The budget was $64m when the redevelopment commenced.
Baker said the practical completion milestone marked the transition from construction to operational readiness ahead of the pool’s reopening to the community. The pool first opened in 1936 and will now reopen during its 90th anniversary year.
“Over the coming months, council teams will be on site completing the final stages of preparation to deliver the best possible experience for the community when the facility reopens,” Baker said.
She said that work would include fit-outs, installation of equipment and furnishings, staff recruitment and training, implementation of technology and systems, commissioning and testing of plant rooms, finalisation of facility assessments and operating procedures and completion of remaining heritage restoration works.
Baker described the handover as “a significant milestone” after years of delays and uncertainty around the project.
“For some of us at this table, there were times when we wondered whether we would get here,” she said.