Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

[TrickyRicky]

whoaccio, while I agree any games should be centrally located I disagree that it is negative to have facilities spread out in the GTA. If the objective of the games is to promote and improve sport and sporting excellence in the region why doesn't it make sense to have top level facilities in different areas with different specialties?

With regard to the Olympics, I'll say it again, Beijing has totally turned me off of the Olympics. The media coverage was a nit-picking bitch fest, largely reducing the return on investment for the money spent on exposure. The revenue generated externally for positive long-term improvements to the city was insignficant relative to the amount Chinese tax-payers were saddled with.

I've tried to take a philosophy where initiative is deemed precious, meaning if someone wants to organize or implement something that is roughly positive, never work against them. But in the case of the Olympics I would consider breaking this rule and actively campaigning against a Toronto bid.

 

[Whoaccio]

whoaccio, while I agree any games should be centrally located I disagree that it is negative to have facilities spread out in the GTA. If the objective of the games is to promote and improve sport and sporting excellence in the region why doesn't it make sense to have top level facilities in different areas with different specialties?

I've got nothing against developing regional facilities, but Pan-Am games are not the way to do it. It wont actually fix anything. Pan-am games are meant to be held by cities like Winnipeg. Guadalajara or Panama City, not a bloody mega-region. Sports facilities will be so sprawled out, they will be functionally unusable. Will anybody take a hotel in Toronto to watch a swimming match in Hamilton? Or take a hotel in St. Catherines to see a track and field event in Pickering? No 15 year old who wants to give swimming a shot will bother to get her parents to drive her 50km each week to go swimming. As I said before, Hamilton by itself could host the Pan-Am games without much difficulty. It doesn't need a region of 8m people spread over 30,000 km2 to back it up.

 

[ssk]

I love Miller.

But the mayor said Toronto has been burned three times in recent years with major event bids and can't afford to get ahead of senior levels of government again.

"Let's look at this in context," Miller said. "We've lost two Olympic bids and we tried to bid for the World's Fair. It was ours. We would have had it but we couldn't get the federal and provincial governments onside.

"So my perspective on this is that if the province feels it's important and is willing to fund it with the federal government, we will of course be happy to be a partner.

"It's clear in our political context that we have to wait for the provincial and federal governments to get aligned, which only just happened."

The games would be "a good thing," Miller said, but added there are details that need to be worked out, including how the city gets a say in the organization and where some of the venues might be located.

For instance, Miller said he ould like to see the opening and closing ceremonies at the existing Rogers Centre rather than a newly built stadium, and he wants a new aquatics centre in Scarborough built along the proposed Transit City light-rail lines.

Strengthening Toronto's sports and recreation infrastructure must work hand in hand with renovated public transit and developing lower income neighbourhoods, Miller said.

"It's that kind of thing that interests me."

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2008/09/14/6761286-sun.html

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Hilarious...first, we spend billions of dollars on streetcars for the sake of priority neighbourhoods, then we spend billions more on regional sports facilities for the sake of priority neighbourhoods. Guess what, Miller, the people in these neighbourhoods are going to stay poor and the thugs are still going to be killing each other...you can't turn Scarborough into pre-colour Pleasantville just by adding streetcars and swimming pools.

Hamilton could definitely host a successful Pan-Am Games on its own.

 

[Mystic Point]

I couldn't disagree more.

If you're going to be a class A Gansta and Thug, you need to improve your V02 Max and your stamina.

Drive by shootings, high school executions and home invasions require a Thug be in top notch shape.

If we build swimming pools and health clubs in the ghettos, I'm sorry, in the " priority neighborhoods " , we're well on our way to achieving these goals.

 

[Basshats]

It would make absolute no sense whatsoever for Hamilton to get the main new stadium to host athletics.

It does if the city needs a new stadium any way. Part of the city's failed bid for the Commonwealth Games included a 45,000 seat stadium for Atheltics that would also be used by the Tiger Cats and McMaster University.

All this talk of 80k for the Pan-Am Games is puzzling. 30-50k is the standard for this event.

 

[Basshats]

*Western Beaches Race Course – Canoe, Rowing

Holding the rowing and canoeing at the Henley Course has been one of the key venue revelations from the bid group. The venue has hosted the World Rowing Championships before and is well suited for the Games.

Velodrome – Cycling, Wrestling

Cycling and wrestling in the same venue? How do you picture this one? The nature of wrestling as a spectator sport makes it unsuitable to a venue like a velodrome. The past two Olympic Qualifying tournaments have been held at the Etobicoke Olympium while the PowerAde Centre has hosted the Ontario High School Championships (a massive high school event with about 1000 athletes) three times in recent years. I would expect wrestling at a venue similar to one of these.

 

[Kiwi]

Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid Officially Launched

 

[afransen]

Blah.

 

[FutureMayor]

Toronto 2015

I was there. Great launch party!

One of the best launch events I've been to; our bid is off to a great start!

I like the logo! It's simple, diverse and symbolic of both the Toronto and Canada.

Louroz

 

[Filip]

We really are bad at branding ourselves...

First the frosted 'Welcome to Canada' complete with little flag above the a at Pearson is an amazing way to be welcomed, if you're senile.

Now the cheerful stickfigures of the Toronto 2015 bid. hehehehe

 

[carrefour]

You know, I don't like to poo-poo everything (I like to wait 4-6 hours later to digest it) but at first site, this pedestrian, down-right lame logo beautifully demonstrates our lack of UNLIMITED exciting vision in this city. Everything is a comprise. Everything is watered down. Diverse. Multicultural. Nothing in particular. We don't try to be outrageous. We don't dare to dare. Why reach for the sky when we can grasp that which is at our feet?

A boring logo for what will ultimately be a boring event.

Excuse my cynicism.

 

[taal]

How about you show us bids from other countries from any year that are nicer?

 

[toforumer]

I really hope Toronto gets a good chunk of new sporting venues which this city lacks. I really hate this idea of spreading out all the venues.

If they are labeling this bid as "Toronto 2015" for the International community, then Toronto better host the popular sporting events such as Athletics, Aquatics, etc.

I'd be sick to my stomach if they actually choose Hamilton as the venue for track since that city keeps pimping themselves out as the candidate that deserves a new 40,000 seat stadium.

 

[jn_12]

It's better than Lisa Simpson giving head