FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2026
From: Friends of Legion Pool
The Mayor and Council of the City of Athens
September 19, 1952
In response to your request for an opinion as to the duties and responsibilities with respect to the request made by the Allen R. Fleming Post of the American Legion [Legion Pool], my opinion is as follows:
The major portion if not all of the property proposed to be sold by the Legion to the University of Georgia has been dedicated to public purpose. Under these circumstances, it can not be conveyed except upon approval of the Judge of Superior Court; and his approval is contingent upon the proceeds of the sale being so utilized under Court supervision as to secure other public facilities equal in convenience, utility and value to those proposed to be disposed of.
- James Barrow, Athens City Attorney
Legion Pool has been dedicated to public use since it opened in 1936 and it remains so today. The Allen R. Fleming post of the American Legion gifted nine acres of land to the city to be used for this pool. Veterans of WWI built this pool for the children and community of Athens, and as a memorial for their fellow soldiers who died in that war. The Veterans who made it back home to Athens brought with them a profound appreciation for life and service. They built the pool with financial donations and construction volunteers from the Athens community, and with “New Deal” WPA funds. Athens middle school students held classroom fundraisers and donation drives. The people of Athens who donated funds for and worked toward this common purpose did so with the understanding that they were creating something permanent for their City, as expressly provided for by Georgia law. To this day, the people of Athens have continued to value and cherish Legion Pool for the very reasons our WWI Veterans built it. They wanted to give the community a reliable space for meaningful social connection, and they succeeded. Legion Pool has always been irrevocably dedicated to public use as a result of their contribution, which means it cannot be used for any purpose other than the swimming pool that has been in use for the past 90 years.
This history is the reason UGA has admitted uncertainty as to whether it owns Legion Pool. UGA, according to its Working Group Final Report, “believes” it owns the Legion Pool property and “believes” it is not required to continue operating the pool.
We are the Friends of Legion Pool. We are over 2,400 strong, and include UGA students, staff and alumni, and Athens community members. We grew up at Legion Pool. So did our kids, our parents, and for many, our grandparents. 90 years spans many generations. To those inclined to dismiss our views as “sentimental” – we view speaking out against the destruction of a community asset like Legion Pool, and calling upon our elected officials to preserve and protect this community asset, as a matter of civic duty.
We are saddened to learn that demolition of Legion Pool is underway and cannot remain silent as UGA administrators move to bulldoze this historic and culturally significant landmark, citing dubious and ever- changing grounds for doing so, and without making any meaningful effort to examine or articulate its legal right to do so.
Legion Pool is dedicated to public use, is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and, as was announced on February 25, 2026, is included as one of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s ten Places in Peril sites.
Since July 2025, UGA has presented its proposal for redevelopment of Legion Field/Legion Pool — to demolish Legion Pool and replace it with an amphitheater and 70 additional parking spaces — as overwhelmingly supported by students. This proposal was published and defended numerous times in UGA controlled outlets, most notably UGAToday and WUGA.
Over the last six months, our group of volunteers known collectively as Friends of Legion Pool has worked tirelessly in an attempt to foster dialogue by presenting detailed counter-arguments to the “facts” UGA was citing to justify this decision.
Our requests for dialogue and detailed counterpoints have been repeatedly ignored or dismissed as irrelevant or invalid. Despite being held during final exams, at an inconvenient time and a location far from UGA’s main campus, the large audience and numerous speakers at the public hearing on December 8, 2025 were overwhelmingly against demolition. None of the UGA staff present indicated they had ever visited the pool, indicative of a top-down decision far removed from Legion Pool users.
On February 10, 2026, UGA revealed an updated redevelopment plan. The project now includes four sand volleyball courts and a reduced number of parking spaces, with no amphitheater, “allowing more space to remain dedicated to outdoor gathering and student activity”. The sudden change of plan is surprising — especially since it was not publicly disclosed until after the initial iteration of the plan was approved by the Board of Regents.
Once again, UGA students, faculty and staff, as well members of the Athens community, have been deprived of any meaningful opportunity to raise questions or concerns regarding the future of this historical community resource. True transparency requires openness before irrevocable decisions are made. UGA’s approach erodes public trust and leads many to believe that UGA was simply checking boxes enroute to a preordained result.
We think it’s fair to ask whether UGA, which defines its values as “integrity, engagement and service” and claims “a formal responsibility to utilize its personnel and resources to improve life in Georgia,” is prepared to uphold those values when it’s not convenient to do so, or when doing so goes against some preconceived land use objective. These stated values should most certainly be upheld when the failure to abide by them so negatively impacts the very community UGA claims to serve.
Demolition is set to begin in earnest on March 5.
"It may appear quixotic in this time when we are experiencing so many degradations
of our country and world, to care about a community pool. Yet we have to begin where we are
to stand against such degradations. We have to fight for what’s good and right
and beautiful, even if the machine stands against us."
- Sara Baker