ATHENS — For nearly 40 years, Rinne Allen has spent summers at Legion Pool on the University of Georgia campus.

Her kids, now teenagers, learned to swim there. Each season, Allen looked forward to the rhythm of this place off Lumpkin Street, tucked beside more than a thousand dorm rooms and within sight of Sanford Stadium. On any given day, the pool drew Athens residents, UGA students, faculty and staff, and visitors in town for sports camps.

“It’s one of the few places where town and gown come together in Athens,” said Allen, 52.

Now she and others are fighting for more summers there.

In September, the university announced plans to demolish Legion Pool to make way for green space, an outdoor amphitheater and additional parking.

The decision reignited a familiar debate between development and preservation. To some, Legion Pool is outdated and underused — a relic from another era. To others, it’s a living piece of Classic City history, a place where the university and the community have long shared the same water on hot summer days.

UGA officials say the plan is part of an effort to maximize one of the busiest areas on campus and cited the pool’s aging infrastructure and limited use outside the summer months.

A study conducted earlier this year by a working group chaired by Dean of Students Eric Atkinson found that fewer than 2.5% of students use the pool.

Students, faculty and alumni have access to indoor pools at the Ramsey Student Center on East Campus. However, the Ramsey pool is not open to Athens residents.

Atkinson said Legion Pool loses an estimated 24,000 gallons of water a day through leaks and evaporation, and nearly $90,000 a year in operating costs, a deficit covered by Student Activity Fee reserves. UGA said total visits among all users are down nearly 55% since 1998.

“For all these reasons — usage, sustainability, and cost of maintenance and operation — our working group concluded that an alternative use provided the best option for our students,” Atkinson said in a statement.

This rendering depicts the University of Georgia’s plan for an amphitheater and green space on campus in place of Legion Pool. A study conducted earlier this year found that fewer than 2.5% of students use the pool. (Courtesy)

But for many Athenians, those explanations fall short.

In an October letter to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the group Friends of Legion Pool argued that the “lack of student use and resultant fiscal losses have happened by design.” The pool, the group noted, is open from late May to early August, when most students aren’t in town. The group added that the university could offer swim lessons, lifeguard training and student events to increase the pool’s potential.

“It’s what preservationists call demolition by neglect,” said James K. Reap, UGA professor emeritus in the Master of Historic Preservation Program. “If you don’t do anything with it, it will eventually get so bad you’ve got to tear it down.”

Opened in 1936, Legion Pool was constructed through the Works Progress Administration in collaboration with the city of Athens. At 75 feet wide by 150 feet long and 475,000 gallons of water, it was the largest pool between Richmond, Virginia, and Miami. The Navy used it for training during World War II.

In the 1950s, the property was deeded to the Regents of the University System of Georgia for $75,000, though the city continued to run the pool into the 1970s through lease agreements. Local officials investigated questions of ownership over a decade ago, when the university explored demolition, and again earlier this year.

“My best understanding is that Athens-Clarke County has no ownership of Legion Pool,” said Kelly Girtz, Athens’ mayor.

Legion Pool supporters attend the Wild Rumpus Halloween Parade in Athens on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. Since the announcement, the effort to save the pool has launched again. (Courtesy of Rinne Allen)

Since the announcement, the effort to save Legion Pool has launched again — with many of the same people who worked successfully in 2012 when UGA canceled a request to close the pool. Friends of Legion Pool organized an online petition that has drawn more than 1,100 signatures.

Sara Baker, an Athens resident who has visited Legion Pool for decades, said it was frustrating that UGA did not include any group members in the working study earlier this year.

“UGA has never wanted to talk with us about it,” she said.

Tommy Valentine, executive director of Historic Athens, said UGA is likely the largest owner of historic properties in the state, with many buildings on campus 50 years or older. Valentine said the university has its own preservation plan and “has a long tradition of honoring those places,” such as on North Campus.

“However, when you’re making a decision around a place such as Legion Pool,” he said, “it is important to tread carefully to make sure you’re consistent with the philosophy you’ve demonstrated elsewhere on campus.”

A university spokesperson said Monday that legal notice will be posted in the local newspaper later this week after an environmental effects report is published and available for review. UGA will schedule a public hearing in December, but there isn’t yet a firm date.

Allen said there are other places where residents and students interact. At football games. Downtown establishments. On-campus lectures. But, to her, Legion Pool offers a unique experience.