Phelps, coach to operate Olympian's home pool

Michael Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, have formed a partnership to operate the pool where the Olympic swimmer began training at age 7.

Their partnership, Aquatic Ventures LLC, formally announced on Friday that it was taking over at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center and the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which produced Phelps and six other Olympians over four decades.

"We're just very excited to be home," Bowman said. "This is our home."

Bowman said he and Phelps will continue to balance the center's offerings between recreational and competitive swimming. Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in August, will be busy with training once the new year begins, but he'll be more involved in decisions as time goes on, Bowman said.

"We will continue our mission to develop Olympic level swimmers in concert with our community focus," Phelps and Bowman said in the statement. "The scope of our program will always be greater than solely training competitive swimmers."

Bowman began coaching Phelps at NBAC when he was 11. After the Athens Olympics in 2004, when Phelps won six gold medals, the swimmer followed Bowman to the University of Michigan, where he was head coach of the men's swim team. Now they are returning to Baltimore together.

The long-term lease and operation license agreement was signed this week. Bowman declined to disclose how much the deal was for.

It means Bowman and Phelps will operate the facility for five years or more with an option to buy it in the future, said Meadowbrook owner and NBAC founder Murray Stephens.

"It's a good way for them to get started into pool ownership and management," he said.

Bowman will continue to coach Phelps and other swimmers in addition to his duties as NBAC's chief executive officer.