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Spear Corp. employees take pride in nearby Olympic trials
INDIANAPOLIS — As veterans of several major swimming events over the last two decades, the employees of Roachdale-based Spear Corp. are no strangers to performing the behind-the-scenes work when all eyes are on the best swimmers in America.
With the U.S. Olympic Team Trials set next month in Indianapolis, what is different for President Brian Spear and his employees is the chance to do it right in their own back yard. Spear is playing a key role in the trials as part of the team that will build two pools inside Lucas Oil Stadium, normally much better known as the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
The role of Spear Corp., which already began last week, is to run the mechanical side of things, plumbing, filtration, heating and chemicals as well as maintaining the pools throughout the trials.
“There’s a lot of pride in the guys coming out here from Putnam County,” Spear said. “It’s been nice for our crew of about 16. A lot of them have been here to football games, so it’s nice for them to be here working on this project.”
The project itself is much more than meets the eye, Spear noted. The pools will be built about 10 feet above field level with a temporary floor installed around them.
“A lot of people think it’s an in-ground type of pool,” Spear said. “But the turf was taken out, and it’s concrete floor right now. The structure is built on top of that floor. It’s three meters deep. A company comes in and puts in decking, so it looks like it’s an in-ground pool, but it’s actually decking that is built up to it.”
The layout of the stadium will be similar to when basketball is played at the venue, with the competition pool in the south half of the stadium, curtains separating the two sides, and the warmup pool in the north half.
Spear also noted that the warmup pool has in some corners been touted as two pools, but it’s actually a single, L-shaped pool divided into two distinct practice areas of 50 and 25 meters.
Besides being closer to home, the trials, set for June 15-23, are kind of a homecoming to Spear’s first big event of this nature. In 2004, Spear built its first temporary pool in what was then Conseco (now Gainbridge) Fieldhouse for the World Short Course Swimming Championships. The company also built a pool in Orlando for the Invictus Games in 2016 and even built a two-lane pool on the street in front of Macy’s in New York City for a special event in 2013.
Spear has really hit its stride with the Olympic Trials, though.
“We’ve done the actual trials four times — 2012, 2016, 2020 (which was actually in 2021 thanks to Covid) and 2024,” Spear said. “Those three were in Omaha, and this one is in Indianapolis.
“We got pretty used to Omaha, so by the last time we did it we had it figured out.”
While the company has moved in plenty of heavy equipment, the president said the biggest questions have actually revolved around the relatively simple questions of how to get the water in (and out).
“Changing to here has been, believe it or not, how to fill the pools, how to drain the pools and how to drain the pools,” Spear said.
The “out” question is not as simple as pulling a plug and watching it drain. The hardest part may come after the swimmers and cheering fans have left.
“Sometimes that gets forgotten, but you’ve got to get the water out as well. We’re actually two floors below street level here,” Spear said before noting that partnerships with Citizens Energy and the Indianapolis Fire Department are helping to address such questions. “Just getting those things in and out will be the biggest challenge with this project.”
When the trials are going on next month, the idea will be to keep things running smoothly.
“During the actual trials themselves, we will be running that equipment, watching it and managing the pool operations,” Spear said. “We’ve been planning for this one specifically for almost two years. There are challenges that come up like a breakdown of a sensor or something. But trying to keep that so it’s not noticeable. We usually are able to take care of that pretty quickly. You can’t plan for everything, but we try to.”
For example, once in Omaha, there was a crack in the equipment that made a little leak on the floor, but the crack was quickly fixed, the water mopped up and things moved forward.
“It’s pretty rewarding. It’s really neat, once everything is complete and all the hard work has been put in, to see the swimmers come in,” Spear said. “If you’ve every been to one of these swim meets, it’s quite a production. I’m really proud of all the people at Spear Corp. I’m really proud of everybody, the people in the office and the people on site. It’s just really special to be a part of this.
“Swimming is such a big thing in Indiana, to have it here is such a big deal,” he added. “To have it here in the city of Indianapolis and in the state is great. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product and having the swimmers in the water.”
With work having begun more than a month before the beginning of the trials, there is also the added bonus of being able to drive home each evening.
“It’s been nice being just up the road,” Spear said. “In the past, I’ve basically gone to Omaha and stayed there for two months. Getting to just drive an hour home and then sleep in my own bed has been pretty nice.”
