Bowman and Phelps have expressed interest in making some cosmetic upgrades to the facilities - though no formal plans have been worked out. Phelps' representatives didn't respond to a request for comment yesterday. Whatever their plan eventually becomes, it's unlikely they'll have to fight the vicious uphill battles Stephens did in the early 1990s, when he wanted to construct Meadowbrook's second indoor pool, where Phelps did much of his training in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Because the facility lies within a 100-year flood plain, cutting through the red tape to get a building permit was exhausting. Stephens estimates he spent six figures in lawyers' fees. When he finally got the proper permits in 1993, Stephens served as his own general contractor, shuffling in different plumbers, electricians, and builders until he could get exactly what he wanted. In the end, he did a lot of the work himself, bleeding into the project along the way.
"I came to believe that saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he said. "I thought, well, if I can get through this, I know there aren't going to be too many people to compete with, because they'd have to be as crazy as I am to do this. And as patient. There is no doubt there is a degree of satisfaction to having a little more traction and gravitas now."
Aside from a few aesthetic changes, it's unlikely Meadowbrook will be much different in the months and years to come.
"I think it will be the same," said Eve Rummel, who spoke as she was loading her two kids into her minivan after a session in the pool yesterday. "I was just talking to some people inside and they said it's not going to be any different. That's good. I love the atmosphere here. I've always felt so welcome."
Rummel said she has been coming to Meadowbrook since she was pregnant with her daughter, Siora, who is now 4. Her daughter takes swimming lessons there, and her son is enrolled in Meadowbrook's "Get Wet" program, where kids learn to stick their faces under the water for the first time.
"One of my daughter's friends almost drowned recently, so that made me realize how important it was for her to learn to swim," Rummel said.
One of the reasons Bowman and Phelps wanted to return to Meadowbrook was the chance to work with kids again. Stephens quickly understood he had found a kindred spirit in Bowman when he persuaded the coach to come to Baltimore more than a decade ago.
They have similar work ethics and interests in the world. Both are, in many respects, Renaissance men. Bowman studies classical music composition in college; Stephens writes poetry in spare time and watches the History Channel. Both are political junkies who pack their schedules so tight, they beat the sunrise out of bed. Bowman even lived in one of Stephens' houses when he first moved to Baltimore.
"I knew him, but we hadn't spent much personal time together," Stephens said. "We worked well together, got along, and he began to take on more responsibility. And now he has all the responsibility."
Stephens pauses, waits a full beat, and then smiles.
"Well," he says, "almost all the responsibility."
