Toronto 2015

[Apple]

Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid Officially Launched

[IceNarcissus]

Again with the tired old maple leaf allusion.

Not only that, it SCREAMS commonwealth.

[Kenadian]

What's wrong with the maple leaf? In a bid phase, it easily translates into a visual that spells "C-A-N-A-D-A". Or would you prefer they pulled a VANOC and took another region's symbol? A totem pole skyscraper? A lighthouse CN Tower? A trillium fleur-de-lys? Or a LOCOG and something abstract and garish?

This logo isn't spectacular, but it says Toronto and it says Canada and it says celebration. That's all it needs to do.

Anyway, it is about time Toronto had a major sporting event. I'm excited about what the plan will entail.

Edited October 3, 2008 by Kendegra

[cfm Jeremie]

This logo isn't spectacular, but it says Toronto and it says Canada and it says celebration. That's all it needs to do.

Where does it say Toronto (except for the name of course)?

[dave199]

When is the venue plan going to be announced?

[dave199]

I'm still not a big fan of the bid being so spread out. Read the part I highlighted. It's so true. It's from an editorial in the Toronto Star.

PAN AM GAMES

TheStar.com | Sports | 'Toronto' dirty word to Pan Am bid pooh-bahs

'Toronto' dirty word to Pan Am bid pooh-bahs

Oct 03, 2008 04:30 AM

Comments on this story (3)

Dave Perkins

There were jugglers and clowns, gymnasts and fencers and a couple of trampoline artists dazzling about 500 schmoozers yesterday at the official kickoff of the 2015 Pan Am Games bid. Yet the neatest trick was the one turned in by bid chair David Peterson.

The former premier is the handshaking face of the bid, now only a week from its first moment of truth, its initial presentation in Acapulco to the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The entire undertaking still is sorting itself out, lacing where and when details. The board of directors is not yet in place, even if Jagoda Pike, for another day the highest sheriff at this newspaper, has come aboard as president to cross t's and dot i's Peterson either can't or can't get around to. The guess here is that they will work well together.

That neat trick was Peterson introducing the mayor of this burg of ours, David Miller – who has, however grudgingly, joined the choir – without once saying the word Toronto. Peterson et al know exactly how to play this one out: Forget the word Toronto inside our borders, where everybody hates the place yada-yada, but stress it to the rest of the world, where it's a highly regarded destination.

So Peterson spoke of the "Greater Golden Horseshoe" bid and among the crowd, which featured athletes, sports bureaucrats and enough politicians to steal four boxcars, were all kinds of mayors and city elders from the smaller Ontario communities, the ones whose grassroots support will dictate the success of this endeavour.

For the record, the handout name was the "Toronto and Greater Golden Horseshoe Bid for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games." Say that fast three times.

The only time the word Toronto was stressed was on the unveiling of the logo, a stylized maple leaf made of pointy coloured sticks with "Toronto 2015" across the bottom. It's plain and simple, even if the launch wasn't.

The usual speeches were made and politically correct nods were made toward every possible offendable party. Cultural festivals were stressed and everyone rolled out the economic cherry pie that always gets sliced thick at times like these: the alleged $2 billion in economic activity and the quarter-million visitors and the 17,000 jobs and so on. You've heard it all before.

One question arose about the federal government's commitment, which seems to have lost $160 million worth of weight since Beijing. Back then, the word from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was $660 million of the pretended cost of $1.8 billion. That works out to about 35 per cent, which is what Canadian Olympic Committee president Mike Chambers, Canada's man on the PASO board, believes the feds are committed to. Nobody could explain why Flaherty's letter yesterday, read in his absence due to a family situation, reduced the committed number to $500 million.

Peterson said he wondered about that, too, but other bid types said they have the commitment letter signed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and not to worry. (Peterson said Harper is "jazzed by the whole thing." That sounds good, but will sound better coming from the PM himself after votes are counted Oct. 14.)

Whatever the burbles about economic benefits and so on, there is one reason (it says here) to support this thing: that's the promise of top-notch athletic facilities for southern Ontario and the GTA. This province has become a wasteland for high-performance sports in too many areas. The two-week party, as enticing as it can sound, and the tourism draw attention. The only compelling reason to spend that kind of money is to provide a legacy of athletic facilities the province otherwise would never get.

[Apple]

When is the venue plan going to be announced?

Locations of venues will be finalized before the end of the year, likely around end of November or December.

[dave199]

I just find a very spread out bid to be ridiculous if you think about it. Visitors would be spending most of their time on our highways than actually getting to experience the city. I really hope the venue plan takes this into consideration. If it is considerably spread out than this is the bid's biggest weakness.

Edited October 3, 2008 by dave199

[Kenadian]

Where does it say Toronto (except for the name of course)?

I see people coming together and Toronto is a word that means meeting place on the lake.

[baron-pierreIV]

Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Bid Officially Launched

I think it's ok except it strikes me more as a ski-jumping championshsip graphic more than anything else.

Edited October 4, 2008 by baron-pierreIV

[Victor Mata]

Again with the tired old maple leaf allusion.

Not only that, it SCREAMS commonwealth.

True. It looks like a version of Manchester 2002 logo. But for a bid logo it works well. I think the designers should have used more creativity.

The 2015 games will be the XVII Pan American Games. If the strokes were arranged properly, they could form a "X V II", adding more meaning to the symbol other than the "meeting and celebrating" and the maple leaf.

[Apple]

McGuinty heads to Mexico to launch Toronto's bid to host 2015 Pan Am Games

18 minutes ago

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty heads to Mexico on Thursday to officially launch Toronto's bid to host the 2015 Pan Am Games, and he says it's crucial that the province comes away with a win.

Ontario hasn't hosted a major international sporting event since the Commonwealth Games in Hamilton in 1930, McGuinty said prior to leaving for Acapulco and the annual meeting of the Pan American Sports Organization.

"It's very important for us to get out there and to be seen to be competing as hard as we can and to bring home a prize," he said.

"It will create a stronger amateur sports culture in this province, and will also help Ontarians - and Torontonians in particular - believe in themselves. We're going after this and we're going to win this because we need this."

The $1.77-billion bid involves Toronto and at least 11 other municipalities throughout the Golden Horseshoe and as far north as Barrie.

McGuinty said a winning bid would act as a catalyst for huge improvements to amateur sports infrastructure in Ontario, including some badly needed new facilities.

"We're after this not only because it's going to generate some $2 billion in economic activity, create 17,000 jobs and attract about 250,000 tourists, but more than that, we are suffering from a lack of amateur sports infrastructure in Ontario," he said.

"I want to strengthen that infrastructure."

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said he "loves" sports, but is supporting the bid because of the desperate need for infrastructure improvements in southern Ontario, and not just for amateur sports facilities.

"We'll actually have a deadline by which there have to be some trains running and housing built and things done to fix up the waterfront," Tory said.

"I support it because it will be fun, it will be good for our profile, it'll be good for tourism, but mainly I support it because it will force us to have a deadline to get some things done for this province."

McGuinty said a winning Pan Am bid would also mean far more opportunities for young Ontario residents to become Olympic-calibre athletes.

"Should they have the inclination and the desire and the ability to pursue amateur athletics at an elite level, then great, we'll be able to get hold of them at an earlier age and build up our calibre of amateur sport talent in Ontario," he said.

The province is on the hook for any cost overruns if Toronto's bid is successful, and the federal government has already trimmed its promised support from $650 million to $500 million, but McGuinty isn't worried about being left with a huge bill after the Games are over.

"We have learned a lot from previous experiences when it comes to these international sporting events, and I'm confident that we know how to manage these costs."

Former Ontario premier David Peterson is heading Toronto's Pan Am bid, which is competing against three South American cities: Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; and Lima, Peru.

A decision on the winning bid is not expected before next summer.

The Pan Am Games, which involve athletes from 42 countries, are held every four years, with the 2011 Games scheduled for Guadalajara, Mexico. Canada last hosted the Games in 1999 in Winnipeg.

[Apple]

McGuinty promises to cover Pan Am tab

October 09, 2008

By Rob Ferguson

Torstar News Service

Despite "troubling times" in the economy, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he'll find a way to cover any cost overruns if Ontario wins its $1.77 billion bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

McGuinty heads to Mexico today to make Ontario's first pitch for the games, which would be the first significant international sports competition held in the province since the 1930s.

"You can't land an international sporting event unless one part of the competing body ... agrees to pick up the tab," said McGuinty, referring to cost-sharing between Ottawa, Ontario and municipalities.

"We have learned a lot from previous experiences. I'm confident that we know how to manage these costs."

McGuinty also said he's not worried about suggestions the federal government has signalled its support will be cut back to $500 million from one-third of the total cost.

The games would be held in Toronto, the GTA and the Golden Horseshoe region, involving about a dozen municipalities.

But New Democrats are worried taxpayers will be stuck with a bill they'll find difficult to swallow depending on what happens to the economy in the coming years.

"I don't think it's very prudent on the premier's part to assume we can take on the cost overruns," said NDP tourism and sport critic Paul Miller, citing the 1976 Montreal Olympics as an example.

"The people of Montreal and Quebec were paying for 15 to 20 years to clean up that mess."

He suggested corporate sponsors – such as the big three North American auto makers who have been given hundreds of millions in no-interest government loans – be pressed to pick up the difference.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said he is not worried yet about potential cost overruns.

"I hope the costs will be on budget ... I hope the costs will represent not a cost but a reasonable investment in transit, in housing, in waterfront redevelopment."

McGuinty said the games will generate $2 billion in economic activity, create 17,000 jobs and lure 250,000 tourists to see more than 5,000 athletes from 42 countries.

He suggested the games bid will act as a catalyst for public transit improvements and other projects already on the drawing board.

"We're going to work as hard as we can to make it jive with some of the infrastructure commitments we already have in place," the premier added. "We're going after this, we're going to win this, because we need this."

McGuinty will make Ontario's pitch to the Pan Am Sports Organization on Saturday, with the official bid to be submitted next April and a final decision by the group's delegates next fall.

Toronto is believed to be competing against Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and Caracas, Venezuela.

The games bid is being led by former Hamilton Spectator publisher Jagoda Pike as president and chief operating officer.

[dave199]

Toronto and Hamilton will be fighting for a new stadium. I wonder who will prevail?

Hamilton shouldn't host one of if not the most prestigious sporting event of the games, Athletics. It should be left for the more high profile city, which the bid is named after!!

[olympian]

Venezuela have reportedly dropped out

[dave199]

Venezuela have reportedly dropped out

Yeah I just found out too.

I had hoped that they would have stayed in the race to atleast make it more competitive. This race seems kinda boring with the current slate of bidding cities. This is so Toronto's to lose.

[Apple]

Toronto 2015 presentation video.......

[olympian]

Toronto 2015 presentation video.......

video is well made and nice.

[Apple]

http://www.toronto2015.org/en/home/

[Apple]

Pan-Am Games bid gets lots of good news

October 11, 2008

John Kernaghan

The Hamilton Spectator

It was a good-news, good-news deal for Ontario's 2015 Pan-Am Games push yesterday, as one challenger dropped out and a key Canadian was voted into a major Pan American Sports Organization post.

The competition dropped to three when Caracas, Venezuela, with its serious petro-dollars, failed to tender a preliminary bid.

That leaves Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia, in the mix.

The Toronto-Golden Horseshoe bid group will hope those two South American cities stay to the bitter end, splitting the Southern Hemisphere vote and helping the Canadian cause.

The bid was also buoyed by the election of Mike Chambers to one of three vice-president positions with PASO.

Chambers, who is president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, will be well positioned to promote the Ontario-led bid as it heads towards a vote next year.

Premier Dalton McGuinty gave the keynote speech in a 20-minute presentation to PASO delegates while former Olympic athlete Charmaine Crooks and gymnast Alexandra Orlando also spoke.

"We'll do everything in our power to live up to the spirit of the Games and make the event truly unforgettable," McGuinty said in a statement.

A slick video showed Toronto's finer angles, to the exclusion of any other parts of the Golden Horseshoe.

It's been clear from the start that the Toronto-Golden Horseshoe bid will be two-faced, showing the Toronto profile to the Pan Am Games world and a regional make-up at home.

So there was no hint of Hamilton or Mississauga, Markham or St. Catharines, possible major players in a regional bid.

The short video was filled with gorgeous views of Toronto and shots of mostly pro sports and celebrity events with cameos by bid chair David Peterson, Toronto Mayor David Miller and several amateur athletes talking about Toronto's passion.

Hamilton's liaison with the Ontario bid secretariat David Adames said that tack wasn't surprising as the initial message needed to be simple and connect members to a city it could easily identify with.

The video can be called up at http://cnw.pathfireondemand.com/viewpackag...on?packageid=97.

The bid group also launched a website, www.toronto2015.org, yesterday, which does touch on the regional nature of the $1.77-billion initiative.

Formal bids will be presented early next year with a PASO vote in the summer.

[Apple]

"In an interview with The Spectator, Sheila Copps said she’s not interested in standing for office anymore - including running for mayor in 2010 - but wouldn’t say she’s through with politics. She wouldn’t mind getting involved in some type of urban planning role with the city, such as helping it plan facilities for the 2015 Pan Am Games, if it is successful in getting the games.

“I don’t miss politics, but I miss Hamilton,” said Copps, who now lives in Ottawa. “I miss the campaigning. It was so much fun.”"

[dave199]

http://www.thestar.com/article/516271

Pan Am games bid kickoff 'hit right notes'

Happy with official pitch in Mexico, organizers look to nitty gritty of picking GTA venues

Oct 12, 2008 04:30 AM

Vanessa Lu

City Hall Bureau Chief

ACAPULCO, Mexico–Now the real work begins.

After formally throwing Toronto's hat into the ring to host the 2015 Pan American Games, organizers have less than a year to bring home the big prize.

"I think we represented Toronto well. I think we hit the right notes. We weren't over the top; on the other hand, we were not modest," Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday in an interview before heading home. "I'm feeling good about this."

He made the official presentation Friday at the general assembly of the Pan American Sports Organization, accompanied by well-known athletes like runner Charmaine Crooks, a five-time Olympian, and rhythmic gymnast Alexandra Orlando, who won three gold medals at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro last year.

Toronto is competing against Bogota, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, to host the games that take place every four years and are open to athletes from 42 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Caracas, Venezuela, has pulled out of the race.

Toronto's organizers have already begun to woo voters for the bid that will be decided next summer or fall by secret ballot at a meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While it is being touted as a Toronto bid here, it is being sold as a Golden Horseshoe bid at home with a dozen municipalities on board.

Organizers acknowledge the biggest challenge will be trying to please every municipality that wants a piece of the action.

"We'll work with the communities. We will try to make these intelligent decisions that best serve all concerned," McGuinty said. "Just because you don't end up with a particular facility in your community does not mean we are not going to benefit as a region from that."

Former premier David Peterson, bid chairman, acknowledges it will be a delicate balancing act.

"It must be fair and seen to be fair," Peterson said. "There are a lot of people with high expectations. I can guarantee you that some of the expectations will not be fulfilled.

"Some people are going to end up mad at me. There will be disappointment."

A board of directors, which would determine the evaluation process, is being finalized. It will include sports and business leaders from across the region.

The cost of the $1.77 billion games would be shared by cities, the province and the federal government. Ottawa has committed up to $500 million, while Queen's Park has promised to cover any cost overruns.

Municipalities seeking a venue will need to share in the capital costs plus ensure they can pay for their continual use after the games.

Peterson acknowledged some venues will have natural winners such as rowing in St. Catharines, but others will not be so clear.

Markham has been working to get a Canadian Sports Institute that would serve as a competitive training centre including aquatics, so the 2015 games would fit in perfectly, said Mayor Frank Scarpitti last week in Toronto.

Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson touts his city for soccer, field hockey and badminton.

"There's enough to go around to everybody," Jackson said last week. But there are already rumblings that Hamilton, eager to win the games as a way to refurbish the aging Ivor Wynne Stadium, is worried that it will lose out to Toronto.

[Rafa]

Mo Rush officially backs Toronto 2015

[olympian]

olympian backs Toronto 2015

[Victor Mata]

Victor backs Toronto 2015 as well!! :lol:/

But I have a question to the canadian participants: Is there any chance that the city of Toronto may end up "absorbing" the majority of the main events of these games for itself as a move to make this bid more reliable?

I mean, naming it "Toronto 2015" and not "Golden Horseshoe 2015" is an indicative that the games are Toronto's, as a preparation to their olympic plans.

I ask this because of this part:

"It must be fair and seen to be fair," Peterson said. "There are a lot of people with high expectations. I can guarantee you that some of the expectations will not be fulfilled.

"Some people are going to end up mad at me. There will be disappointment."

I take that as "cry if you want, the best piece of the cake goes to the party owner". What do you think?