It is a well known fact that countries that host international sports events as the FIFA world cup or the Olympics, always face a challenge in maintaining the sports facilities built for the games after the competitions are over. Reports have stated that in some cases maintaining the stadiums and facilities when not in use often costs more than the profit made by the hosting countries during the games. We’ve seen Qatar showcasing stadiums, for their 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, that can be taken apart after the games and sold or moved to other cities that can make use of them, avoiding post-championship maintenance heavy price tags. In China, Beijing’s 2008 Olympics Bird Nest Stadium costs the city a whopping $10 million a year for maintenance while its sits on stand-by mode, waiting desperately for any kind of profitable use.

Another amazing structure that was destined to face a similar fate is the Beijing Water Cube which hosts the national swimming pool. City officials decided to make use of it and have transformed the Water Cube into one futuristic indoors Water Park, the called it Happy Magic Water Cube Water Park.

After its opening, one year ago, Happy Magic Water Park became the second most visited destination in Beijing for recreational purposes, after the Great Wall. The Water Park sports speed slides, tube slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, floating jellyfish, and many more attractions that can be enjoyed in day time with a sufficient amount of sun light coming in through its bubble-like facade, or an ocean blue-colored atmosphere at night time.

The Water Cube, originally designed by Australian firm PTW Architects and Arup, an already amazing piece of architecture, has re-opened on August 8th 2010 after a year of renovations, led by Forrec design firm that specializes in entertainment and leisure facilities. The Olympic pool is still used for swimming matches, but now the rest of the facility can be used on a regular basis.

