Chris Ray held her 2-year-old as they made their way Thursday across the shallow end of the new swimming pool at CSU-Monterey Bay.

"It's about time they have one," the university student said.

Ray was one of several students, faculty, staff and community members who attended the ribbon-cutting Thursday at the new Otter Aquatics Center.

The new center is complete with a 25-meter outdoor heated NCAA regulation pool that goes up to 13 feet deep with eight swimming lanes and two diving boards. It also has locker rooms, lifeguards, a hydraulic lift for handicapped access and towel services.

"It's important because it gives students a recreational alternative on campus that students have been lacking," said Lisa Moreno, student body president. "It's also one of the steppingstones in the betterment of our university as it continues to grow."

The pool will be open to the public as well as members of the campus community. Center admission passes will be available to purchase on a daily, monthly, six-month and annual basis.

"We were trying to get a 50-meter pool, but that didn't happen because we didn't get the funding," said Kelly Bland, the student representative on the university's pool committee.

A larger pool would have cost about $4.8 million. Officials decided instead to take advantage of a $2.5 million federal grant it had to cover the cost of the aquatic center.

The university had to use the money before time ran out, said Niras Dangoria, the university's assistant vice president for campus planning and development.

"The 50-meter pool is something we'd like in the future, but we are still a growing university and have so many other things to do," Dangoria said.

The project took about four years, once the planning process got under way, Dangoria said.

"It's so important for us to provide amenities for our students," he said, adding that the university will have 3,650 students in the new school year.

University President Peter Smith addressed the crowd gathered at the opening event before he was wrestled into the pool by Athletic Director Bill Trumbo. Relay races, dessert and an open swim session followed the ceremony.

Smith recalled how in the fall of 1997 he sat down with a group of students in the dining commons and asked them the five things they thought the campus needed.

"Everyone we asked said, 'We need a pool, not just for competition, but for recreation and education,'" Smith said. "They said, 'Dr. Smith, it ain't California if you don't have a pool.'"

Bethany Ellison agreed. The 14-year-old competitive synchronized swimmer came from San Juan Bautista to check out the pool.

"I wasn't considering coming here (for school) because it didn't have a pool, but now I might," she said.

Steve Fischel, the university's assistant men's basketball coach, stood on the 1-meter diving board and did a flip into the water.

"It's great and obviously a sign of the direction the university is headed," he said.

Trumbo said he has recommended that the university start a women's intercollegiate water polo team in the 2004-05 school year.

"We're not ready to announce it at this point," he said.