February 23/09 17:15 pm - Pan Am Games Bid Gets Critical Endorsement

Posted by Editoress on 02/23/09
 

Both Toronto and Hamilton City Councils vote to bring Games local


Canadian Newswire

The Hon. David Peterson, Chair of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid, congratulated Councils of the City of Toronto and the City of Hamilton on their decisions today to participate in the Games, which will see Games events hosted at existing and new legacy venues throughout each city.

"The Councils of both Toronto and Hamilton each have made an important and valuable decision that will provide these communities jobs, tourists, international profile, home-town improvements and a strong platform for opportunities into the future," said Peterson. "I'd like to congratulate both Toronto Mayor David Miller and Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger for their partnership in helping us drive the Games vision forward. Not only will their communities benefit, but so will the entire region."

Both the Councils of the City of Toronto and the City of Hamilton voted today in favour of hosting 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games events in these communities. Hosting requires shared investment in building new venues or retrofitting existing facilities.

Venue highlights in Toronto include the new Pan Am Games Aquatics Centre, the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario and a number of venue upgrades among others. Venue highlights in Hamilton include a new 15,000-seat stadium, a permanent velodrome and a 50-metre competitive pool.

Next milestones in the bid include submitting the bid book by the end of April to the Games governing body, the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The final decision on which bidder will be the 2015 host is expected to be made by PASO in the fall.

The Pan Am Games are a major international multi-sport event, held every four years for athletes of the 42 PASO member nations. The Pan American Games consists of all Summer Olympic sports, plus other non-Olympic events, and serve as an Olympic-qualifier for a number of participating sports. The last edition of the games was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2007 and the next edition is scheduled to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico in October 2011.