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Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

FutureMayor

FutureMayor

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http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/280960

http://mississauga.com/article/8962

Mississauga and Hazel is on board, I wonder if Toronto and Miller will jump on board? If their not, let's not bloody embarass ourselves like we did with EXPO 2015.

This would be a golden marketing opportunity for the city of Toronto.

I'm thinking this might tie nicely into building a new Athletics Stadium in the Portlands which could then be converted for use by a new NFL team.

Louroz
 
I think it's a great idea, the smaller athletics events like the Pan Am, Commonwealth, or World Championships in Athletics (the ones Edmonton hosted in 2001) are a good way to promote the cities that host them and not break the bank at the same time. These events also lend to develop recreational facilities that are at the scale where they'll actually be useful after the event to the community at large. That being said, I hope no stadium that could possibly be converted to be used for a NFL team be built for this event. We already have our giant stadium in Rogers Centre... the city doesn't need another 60,000-seat stadium. A smaller scale, 10-15,000 seater in the Portlands would be the maximum I would forsee.
 
When we look for things that set us apart in the world, we can point to seriously considering bidding for these games as one of those things...
 
Because the expense isn't that great and most importantly, it primes the city to hold bigger and better events. I'm gonna bring up Edmonton, which hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1978, University Games in 1983, and then the World Championships in Athletics in 2001. Each event was progressively larger, and the city got the latter events based on the legacy, success, and reputation of being host of the smaller events.

For example, the WCA's in 2001 were billed as one of the most successful ever, despite the fact that it was the first time ever the games were held in North America. The IAAF chose Edmonton because of its reputation with hosting world-events such as the ones listed before and also smaller events like the World Figure Skating Championships, the World Curling Champs, the Brier, Canadian Finals Rodeo, etc. etc.

Worldwide TV audience for the 2001 games was around 2-billion, 3rd behind the Olympics and the World Cup of Soccer. The cost to Edmonton? Roughly $65-million. The legacy was a new practice stadium next to Commonwealth Stadium, which was built for the Commonwealth Games but then renovated and expanded for the 2001 games. There was a new university athletic centre constructed onto the new south campus, which has since helped to push the city's LRT south. These aren't massive Athletes Villages or 70,000 seat stadiums, but now, community sports teams and the general public have these great world-class facilities to use.

I feel Toronto should go after these smaller events more often... they cost little to host, but after hosting a bunch of them, the cumulative effect would be the same as hosting the Olympics, without the significant risk that comes with it... and after a few, who knows, Toronto may prove itself to be a great host to the world stage, and the Olympics could be ours as well.
 
But in fact, they cost a lot to host, and no one will ever know we did it, because no one watches the Commonwealth Games or Pan-American Games. No one even broadcast the last Pan Am Games.
 
^But I think that can be a good thing and exactly the reason why I am more supportive of this level of event than the Olympics. The athletic and sporting facilities of a city matter. The health of these kind of activities is just as important in terms of culture and standard of living as museums or art galleries or concert halls. The problem with the Olympics is that they are too expensive and political and often what matters most, the sports and the legacy of local sport facilities and organisations become subservent to massive security budgets and extraneous architectural megalomania.
 
whether or not it's on TV isn't what matters... The Pan American games would bring athletes and their families and fans to the city when they might not have come. They'll bring with them their culture which they share with Torontonians, whether on the street or as volunteers or as billeters. And if they have a great experience, they'll go home and tell their stories.... word of mouth is worth more than television ratings any day.
 
Then instead of wasting the money on something no one cares about, lets put the money into the tourism budget and get the same result.
 
Best not to mess with this 'games' crap. Look at how the ferderal Liberals built that thing at the waterfront- remember- regardless of if we got the games or not? Oh, never mind...
 
but we did get the U19 soccer... and now we also have Toronto FC... which is undoubtedly a huge success... though doing it all for MLSE is another story... I reserve my judgement on that.

Yes, increasing our tourism funding and coming up with an effective campaign would also bring people here... but major events like this also help develop infrastructure.. and the small-to-mid sized events will develop infrastructure Toronto needs and will use. And the people visiting is guaranteed.... unlike a crappy campaign like Toronto Unlimited which probably brought a busload or two after a huge expenditure with no benefit to the average city dweller.
 
I don't like the sounds of spreading the Pan Am's across the Golden Horseshoe. From St.Catherines to Markham??? Won't that be a long drive then!!

Honestly, if Toronto hosts these, the majority of the events better take place in the city of Toronto or else I won't support this. Toronto is Canada's biggest and most important city and definitely lacks the necessary sporting infrastructure that it could possibly get out of hosting an international sporting event such as a Pan Am Games.
 
AndreaPalladio said:
But why build unneeded facilities for a Z-list non-event?
Click to expand...

Didn't you read the article?

Toronto lacks world class sporting facilities!!!

The only way to get them seems to be to host International sporting events.

Do you really think we would have Toronto FC and be apart of the MLS now if we hadn't bid for the U-20 FIFA World Cup??? We wouldn't have BMO Field.

Why do you think our Summer athletes suck during the Summer Olympics? There is a lack of sporting facilities in this country to properly train athletes to their fullest and also to spark the interest of the youth to begin, especially in it's biggest centre Toronto where the potential to develop a world class athlete seems greater due to the higher population in Toronto and its surrounding areas.

The Pan Ams aren't a Z list event. The last Pan Ams were televised on American television and around the world. Unfortunately, CBC didn't buy the television rights to broadcast the games.

Like many have said, hosting a Pan Ams are relatively cheaper than its other variations such as the Olympics. Toronto would be able to gain the needed sporting infrastructure at a cheaper price tag and would gain the experience of hosting a world class event. That is one of Toronto's problems, everyone seems scared or not confident in Toronto's abilities to host such events. With that mentality, nothing will ever get done then. Toronto needs to build up its international profile for hosting big sporting events if it ever wants to win an Olympics which it has tried and failed 2 times already.
 
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