Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

[MetroMan]

With venues in Hamilton, Ajax, Milton, Oshawa, St.Catherines, Mississauga and no permanent sporting venues built in downtown Toronto, there is a strong argument that this is not a Toronto games. This is an Ontario games. There's nothing wrong with that, but it supports my statement that unlike an Olympic games, it does not encourage upper levels of government to improve Toronto in preparation for an international event.

I'm not saying I won't enjoy the games -- I already am, Play Me I'm Yours was great! -- but I don't see the kind of infrastructure legacy that we'd get from hosting a World Fair for example. Winning a bid for an Olympic games is not something I preoccupy my mind with anymore. There isn't political will in this city for that right now and our time was missed when we passed on bidding for the 2020 games.

I'm approaching the PanAm games as I would with a festival like LuminaTO. It'll be the signature event of that summer in Toronto and bring the city together in conversation and celebration of a common interest.

 

[Torontovibe]

It has given me a little more excitement to look forward to but the drive from upper levels of government to improve Toronto is not there because A) this isn't a Toronto games and B) we don't have the spotlight of the world and the ruthlessness of the IOC to contend with.

Nonetheless, this will be a good feely event for our city and the region. It'll put athleticism at the front of people's minds and give many Torontonians a reason to stay in their city that summer.

With the added cultural component, it might just turn into a really good party for the city. We do like our multicultural festivals.

 

[jn_12]

This is a Toronto Games.

Only, Welland and St Catharines are really no where near Toronto, have little/nothing to do with Toronto, and you wouldn't be hard pressed to find someone from those cities that has never been to Toronto either. A better description would be a Golden Horseshoe Games.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

With venues in Hamilton, Ajax, Milton, Oshawa, St.Catherines, Mississauga and no permanent sporting venues built in downtown Toronto...

I'm approaching the PanAm games as I would with a festival like LuminaTO. It'll be the signature event of that summer in Toronto and bring the city together in conversation and celebration of a common interest.

The UofT downtown facilities will be permanent. UofT is starting to have a decent little cluster of athletic facilities on campus.

 

[TOareaFan]

The UofT downtown facilities will be permanent. UofT is starting to have a decent little cluster of athletic facilities on campus.

True........and there is a tiny (Billion dollar tiny) bit of legacy (albeit non sporting) being left in the West Don lands.

Not sure how a definition of these games being "Toronto " games is restricted to downtown anyway. Is York University not Toronto? Is Scarborough not Toronto?

By this "downtown definition" London 2012 is not a London games....all of the legacy is in the east end and events held as far away as Glasgow.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

True........and there is a tiny (Billion dollar tiny) bit of legacy (albeit non sporting) being left in the West Don lands.

Seriously -- PLEASE do not get caught up in this hype! The plans for, and execution of, the West Don Lands have NOTHING to do with the Pan Am Games. The plans were in place beforehand, they were adapted slightly to allow for an athletes' village (which did allow funds to be released by various levels of gov't a couple of years earlier than otherwise) during the Games, and they will be exactly as envisioned by WT afterwards.

This is part of the 'we gotta get us some Olys' hype -- that Games somehow make billions of magical dollars rain down upon a municipality that would otherwise not have arrived. Impatience is NOT a virtue!

 

[MisterF]

Only, Welland and St Catharines are really no where near Toronto, have little/nothing to do with Toronto, and you wouldn't be hard pressed to find someone from those cities that has never been to Toronto either. A better description would be a Golden Horseshoe Games.

True........and there is a tiny (Billion dollar tiny) bit of legacy (albeit non sporting) being left in the West Don lands.

Not sure how a definition of these games being "Toronto " games is restricted to downtown anyway. Is York University not Toronto? Is Scarborough not Toronto?

By this "downtown definition" London 2012 is not a London games....all of the legacy is in the east end and events held as far away as Glasgow.

Good point. This talk about the Pan Ams not being a Toronto games is just silly. Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, and Manchester are all farther from London than Welland is from Toronto.

 

[nfitz]

Seriously -- PLEASE do not get caught up in this hype! The plans for, and execution of, the West Don Lands have NOTHING to do with the Pan Am Games.

The execution has everything to do with the Pan Am games. Do you really think the entire thing would have been fast-tracked with such full and complete co-operation from every level of government if it wasn't for the games? Do you think IO would be involved like this otherwise?

 

[jn_12]

Good point. This talk about the Pan Ams not being a Toronto games is just silly. Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, and Manchester are all farther from London than Welland is from Toronto.

Not sure why you lumped my comment in with TOareaFan's comment as I was arguing that these aren't strictly a "Toronto Games". Places like Welland and St Catharines are not Toronto or even the GTA. As such, I'd argue they're a "Golden Horseshoe Games"

As for these Olympics, Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, etc are hosting football because they required stadiums to hold 30,000 people (London has 5 stadiums that meet that requirement) that also needed to meet the IOC's standards for media and corporate entertainment, which probably eliminated White Hart Lane, Boelyn Ground and Stamford Bridge, leaving just Emirates Stadium and Wembley as suitable London stadiums. Recoh Arena in Coventry is the odd one out of the 6 being used just because it really isn't of the stature of the others, but originally those matches were slated for Villa Park in Birmingham and Coventry's proximity to Birmingham played a part.

 

[MisterF]

Not sure why you lumped my comment in with TOareaFan's comment as I was arguing that these aren't strictly a "Toronto Games". Places like Welland and St Catharines are not Toronto or even the GTA. As such, I'd argue they're a "Golden Horseshoe Games"

As for these Olympics, Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, etc are hosting football because they required stadiums to hold 30,000 people (London has 5 stadiums that meet that requirement) that also needed to meet the IOC's standards for media and corporate entertainment, which probably eliminated White Hart Lane, Boelyn Ground and Stamford Bridge, leaving just Emirates Stadium and Wembley as suitable London stadiums. Recoh Arena in Coventry is the odd one out of the 6 being used just because it really isn't of the stature of the others, but originally those matches were slated for Villa Park in Birmingham and Coventry's proximity to Birmingham played a part.

That's strange, I must have accidentally clicked the quote button on your post or something. In any case, the Olympics have events all over the UK - Glasgow is farther from London than Montreal is from Toronto. And it's not just London - the Beijing Olympics had events as far away as Shanghai and Hong Kong. I really don't see any reason to refer to the Pan Ams as anything but the Toronto games.

 

[MetroMan]

What the PanAm games organizers should be pursuing is for these to be qualifiers for the Olympics because otherwise, many of the top athletes like Usain Bolt and Kirani James might take a pass. If the stars are here, coverage in the Americas will be much greater giving Toronto the spotlight that will result in tourism dollars down the road.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

The execution has everything to do with the Pan Am games. Do you really think the entire thing would have been fast-tracked with such full and complete co-operation from every level of government if it wasn't for the games? Do you think IO would be involved like this otherwise?

Who or what is IO?

 

[TOareaFan]

Not sure why you lumped my comment in with TOareaFan's comment as I was arguing that these aren't strictly a "Toronto Games". Places like Welland and St Catharines are not Toronto or even the GTA. As such, I'd argue they're a "Golden Horseshoe Games"

As for these Olympics, Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, etc are hosting football because they required stadiums to hold 30,000 people (London has 5 stadiums that meet that requirement) that also needed to meet the IOC's standards for media and corporate entertainment, which probably eliminated White Hart Lane, Boelyn Ground and Stamford Bridge, leaving just Emirates Stadium and Wembley as suitable London stadiums. Recoh Arena in Coventry is the odd one out of the 6 being used just because it really isn't of the stature of the others, but originally those matches were slated for Villa Park in Birmingham and Coventry's proximity to Birmingham played a part.

When did the 30k minimum come in? Other Olympic football tournies have hosted matches in much smaller venues. Every match played at Hampden would have comfortably fit in a much smaller venue.

I would be shocked if Stamford Bridge has poorer facilities than Hampden (one of my favorite stadiums precisely because it is fairly spartan). Even with a 30k limit you could have stayed in London with Wembley, Emirates, Twickenham, The Bridge and Olympic (matches often move to the main stadiums at Olympics).

I think matches were held all over the UK (excl NI) to give the public the sense that this massive expenditure was not just for London. Precisely the same reason the senior governments here insisted the Pan American bid be a regional one......Even though they really are Toronto's games.

 

[intoronto1125]

With venues in Hamilton, Ajax, Milton, Oshawa, St.Catherines, Mississauga and no permanent sporting venues built in downtown Toronto, there is a strong argument that this is not a Toronto games. This is an Ontario games. There's nothing wrong with that, but it supports my statement that unlike an Olympic games, it does not encourage upper levels of government to improve Toronto in preparation for an international event.

I'm not saying I won't enjoy the games -- I already am, Play Me I'm Yours was great! -- but I don't see the kind of infrastructure legacy that we'd get from hosting a World Fair for example. Winning a bid for an Olympic games is not something I preoccupy my mind with anymore. There isn't political will in this city for that right now and our time was missed when we passed on bidding for the 2020 games.

I'm approaching the PanAm games as I would with a festival like LuminaTO. It'll be the signature event of that summer in Toronto and bring the city together in conversation and celebration of a common interest.

Majority of venues are in Toronto. Only 8 venues are outside the city = Toronto Games with subsites outside the city like the London Games.

 

[jn_12]

When did the 30k minimum come in? Other Olympic football tournies have hosted matches in much smaller venues. Every match played at Hampden would have comfortably fit in a much smaller venue.

I would be shocked if Stamford Bridge has poorer facilities than Hampden (one of my favorite stadiums precisely because it is fairly spartan). Even with a 30k limit you could have stayed in London with Wembley, Emirates, Twickenham, The Bridge and Olympic (matches often move to the main stadiums at Olympics).

I think matches were held all over the UK (excl NI) to give the public the sense that this massive expenditure was not just for London. Precisely the same reason the senior governments here insisted the Pan American bid be a regional one......Even though they really are Toronto's games.

The London Organizers put in those stipulations, and the IOC has their own as well (which have to do more with logistics if I'm not mistaken. You can't put the world's media in Craven Cottage). Essentially they only wanted Category 4 stadiums to be used (though I'm not sure why Emirates wasn't used. Ibrox would have also been an option) Hampden Park is a Category 4 stadium, Stamford Bridge is not. All of the stadiums being used for these Games are Category 4 except for Coventry, which only doesn't qualify because of its size (it has a hotel and convention space, which made it an attractive stadium in proximity to Birmingham).

As for Twickenham, there's a lot of reluctance to use the stadium for anything other than rugby. It's never hosted a football match before.

And the original London bid had Belfast's Windsor Park involved despite it's tiny size, which I think was more for show than anything (as in "look, NI, Wales and Scotland will all be involved in these games"). In the end, they only wanted the best stadiums possible.