Toronto 2015

[Apple]

There will be a web broadcast of the voting/ announce?

what's the schedule for the day?

The big presentation Toronto will make to the PASO members shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday has been in the works for three months and been written and rewritten countless times to get it right.

Toronto is last up, which means it gets a chance to leave the final impression on the judges, but it doesn't get to see the other country's pitches.

Councillor Adrian Heaps (Scarborough Southwest), the city's point man on the bid, said there have been rehearsals of the presentation at the Metro Convention Centre to mimic the size and scale of the room where the real deal will go down.

"There's a video presentation at the beginning and a video presentation at the end which kind of buttress the presentation which is approximately about 50, 55 minutes. All I know is that the video presentation at the end has been quoted to me as sending shivers up their spine," he said. "If there are a few cold-hearted people, people have been visibly moved by it. That sounds encouraging."

Toronto may have all the logical arguments going in its favour, but Mr. Peterson said there is also an emotional component to winning the bid. Votes come down to history, loyalty, regional alliances, sympathy and personal friendship.

Mr. Peterson and bid president Jagoda Pike have established ties with the delegates over the past year. But he said this will be a week of "persuasion" and "button-holing." The delegation from Toronto of more than 20 will include Premier Dalton McGuinty, federal Sports Minister Gary Lunn and Mayor David Miller. Toronto will have a hospitality suite on Wednesday and sponsor a lunch on Thursday.

A total of 52 ballots will be cast (since past host cities get to vote twice) and 27 are needed for victory.

The verdict will likely be known by dinnertime on Friday.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/t...sion-nears.aspx

[Apple]

4 days until decision day!!

[Faster]

I don't have a good feeling about this.

[wills]

I have an excellent feeling about this.

[Sir Rols]

I've never thought that this amounted to anything but a one-horse race. I expect the Canadians to be celebrating at the end of the week.

[Diana]

I've never thought that this amounted to anything but a one-horse race. I expect the Canadians to be celebrating at the end of the week.

We sure hope so!

But, as we all know, backrooms really are the centre of decisions!

[Apple]

Lost 2 Olympic bids, 2 Commonwealth bids and 1 World Fair bid in this region so we gotta get some kind of luck eventually.

[Scotguy]

We here at Toronto 2022 await the decision for 2015 host of Pan Am Games. We are hoping for a good result and to continue the legacy to 2022 and beyond

[Apple]

Media Advisory - 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games Host City Announcement

Athletes, Officials and other Toronto 2015 supporters to watch live via satellite as host city announced in Guadalajara, Mexico

TORONTO, Nov. 4 /CNW/ -

WHAT: Toronto 2015 Bid Team, athletes, government officials and volunteers will celebrate Toronto's bid and watch live as the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) announces the host city of the 2015 Pan / Parapan Am Games.

WHO: Host: Hon. George Smitherman, Deputy Premier of Ontario and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure

Co-Hosts: Hon. Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), Government of Canada Councillor Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor, City of Toronto Marnie McBean, Olympian and Pan Am athlete Warren Sawkiw, Former professional baseball player and Pan Am athlete

WHEN: Friday, November 6, 2009 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. EST *Host city announcement expected at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST

The decision will also be available via live Webcast at:

English:

http://events.digitalmedia.telus.com/toron...10609/index.php

French:

http://events.digitalmedia.telus.com/toron.../index.php?l=fr

And at www.Toronto2015.org

WHERE: Labatt House

207 Queen's Quay W, Toronto

Parking at west entrance

Walk to south end of building and take escalator to the second

floor

[Apple]

Pan Am team begins final push

GTA team recruits Mounties to woo votes

November 04, 2009

Vanessa Lu

Torstar News Service

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/666359

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Lobbying for GTA's bid for the 2015 Pan American games is intensifying as the Pan American Sports Organization meeting gets under way.

Bogota and Lima are competing against the GTA to host the games, which are held every four years and open to athletes from across the Americas and the Caribbean.

"It's down to the last three days," said Chris Rudge, chief executive officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee. "People will be paying some attention to the meeting, but there will be lots of side discussions about the merits of the bids."

The cities are putting on their own shows - with Ontario featuring a model of the $1 billion athletes village in the West Donlands, along with video of the other planned venues including Hamilton and Burlington in the $1.4 billion plan.

Officials from Bogota are handing out their famous Colombia coffee, complete with the assistance of a man, who looks very much like Juan Valdez.

Not to be outdone, Toronto's delegation says the Mounties will be on hand in full red serge uniform so delegates can get their pictures with the iconic symbol of Canada.

Lima is expected to play the sentimental card, noting Peru has never hosted the games.

Bid chair David Peterson arrived Tuesday afternoon, but without his luggage which the airline lost, but he was already seen working the room at the Hilton hotel. Although the GTA team is hopeful, Peterson insists that nothing can be taken for granted.

Premier Dalton McGuinty and Mayor David Miller arrive later today. A run-through of the presentation is scheduled for Thursday.

The decision will come Friday afternoon after each city puts on an hour-long presentation to make their final pitch.

The vote will be conducted by secret ballot, with every member nation getting one vote, but those which have hosted before get an extra one for a total of 52 votes. A city wins with a simply majority of 27.

Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno said one of the selling points of his city's bid is that the games are compact, with 95 per cent of venues within three kilometres.

"It's a very good bid in terms of the environment. Traffic won't be a problem," he said. "I feel good."

The GTA bid is spread out across the Golden Horseshoe, stretching from St. Catharines to Hamilton, Burlington, Toronto and Oshawa, and north to Barrie. However, bid officials say dedicated lanes and upgraded transit routes will help move athletes easily across the region.

[dave199]

Why aren't they having the celebrations at Dundas Square? Labatt House? WTF!

[Apple]

^ Money was a factor

For Pan Am news, just stay home

November 05, 2009

Ken Peters

The Hamilton Spectator

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/666953

Maybe it will prove to be a home-field advantage.

Hamiltonians wanting to be the first to learn whether the Toronto 2015 bid for the Pan Am Games is successful tomorrow night will find home the best venue.

Toronto is competing against Bogota, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, to host the Games, which are held every four years and open to athletes from the Americas and the Caribbean. The Pan American Sports Organization Congress is being held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

David Adames, a Hamilton Pan Am Games committee member, said city residents can tune in to the decision on TV or the Internet, including thespec.com.

"For the general public, the great thing is all the local media are gearing up to cover it," Adames said.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger will host invited guests at a reception at the Parks Canada Discovery Centre to hear the official word. Joining him will be members of council, the mayor's Pan Am Advisory Committee and local MPs and MPPs.

Adames said local bid officials considered hosting a public event similar to one in November 2003 when several thousand Hamiltonians jammed Copps Coliseum only to see the city lose the 2010 Commonwealth Games to India. Hamilton chose not to go that route this time.

He said the date and time for the announcement were set only recently.

That Hamilton is not the lead bid but one of 16 municipalities involved was also a factor.

"We thought we would host a more modest event here to show support for the greater bid," said Adames, adding cost was also a consideration.

Adames said Hamilton could host a public celebration should Toronto 2015 get the Games.

[Apple]

Beware X factor in Pan Am bids

November 05, 2009

John Kernaghan

The Hamilton Spectator

GUADALAJARA, Mexico

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/666913

Just like political conventions, the buildup to votes for international events such as the Pan Am Games are subject to surging emotions and fortunes.

Chicago's collapse due to a lacklustre finish in the hunt for the 2016 Olympics last month is the most recent example.

In this Pan Am race, Toronto 2015 has been identified as the front-runner in the competition with Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia. And sources close to the bid suggest the lobbying effort will yield between 32 and 34 votes, well above the 27 needed to win.

That would mean $170 million in sports and recreation development in Hamilton and Burlington.

"We feel good about where we're at," said Toronto 2015 special adviser Bob Richardson yesterday as the Canadian delegation of 50 began efforts to close the deal. "It's a tough competition but we have done most things right."

But is there some dreaded X factor that builds in the late going to allow Lima or Bogota to win the 2015 prize?

Richardson and the Canadian delegation believe the Golden Horseshoe bid has a convincing argument that it can "deliver the Games on time and on budget."

A veteran observer of Games votes yesterday noted this vote will come to a battle of heads versus hearts.

"The Toronto bid is technically excellent and Canada has proven again and again its ability to stage good Games. But Lima, in particular, is appealing to hearts. It's the, 'Little us, we've never had a major event in our country. They all go north.'"

Indeed, Lima delegation spokesperson Ricardo Antonio Duarte Mungi says the heart of the Peruvian bid is the fact it is one of the larger Pan Am countries to not stage the Pan Ams.

"It's our turn. The Olympic spirit is to have Games in countries who do not have as much money. This is our chance to build facilities we don't have."

In contrast, Mungi said, "Toronto has everything already."

Richardson said the Canadian bid is countering that with repeated references to the fact southern Ontario, with a third of Canada's population, has not staged a major multi-sport event since Hamilton put on the 1930 British Empire Games.

Another X factor could be the preference of Mario Vazquez Rana, president of the Pan American Sports Organization. The long-term Pan Am head is characterized as a man who can swing 10 votes one way or the other.

The Mexican media mogul has pointedly made no comment on relative qualities of the bids but one veteran delegate told The Spec he has indicated Toronto would be the best site to build the Pan Am brand and forge new business relationships.

"I bet he says nice things about all the girls," another noted.

Another line of thinking is that if voting was done purely along language lines, Spanish-speaking countries would command 26 votes, while from a regional standpoint the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees represents 26 votes, too. It includes three Spanish-speaking nations with two votes each, two South American and one Central American member.

That CANOC group is meeting this morning, said president Steve Stoute, with an item on the agenda to discuss Toronto 2015.

[Apple]

Now there's a few ways to watch for the announcement. The safest bet is CHCH tv, it's Hamilton's all day news station, they'll be covering it live from Guadalajara.

On the Net:

* The webcast will also be available at toronto2015.org.

* Log on to the Spec Live blog at thespec.com tomorrow during the decision countdown for updates from John Kernaghan, our man in Guadalajara. Join in the discussion by commenting through the day on this live blog.

* Beginning at 5:30 p.m., tune in to thespec.com to watch live streaming broadcast from Mexico.

On the tube:

* Both CHCH-TV and TV Hamilton Cable 14 plan to air the official announcement live from the Pan Am Sports Organization at 6 p.m

[Felipe Menegaz]

TORONTO!

[dave199]

When was the last time the Pan Am Games went to one of the biggest media and financial market in the Americas?

[Blarghman]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but another online source to follow tomorrow:

CBCSports.ca will be streaming the final bids from each city Friday beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Also, join Scott Russell at 5 p.m. ET for a live chat before the 2015 Pan Am decision is handed down.

Article

Also, another article from the Toronto Star:

Poutine, chardonnay served at Toronto's final Pan Am push

Premier Dalton McGuinty hosted a luncheon for delegates to the Pan American Sports Organization, featuring poutine, smoked salmon and chardonnay from Niagara. With a live band playing old familiar hits like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, the crowd watched as Mexican youngsters demonstrated their athleticism from fencing to trampoline to rhythmic gymnastics.

Beer was on ice in a big red canoe and mini-bottles of ice wine were handed out as party favours. A photo booth was set up for delegates to have their pictures taken touting Toronto's bid.

Imro Van Wilgen, secretary-general of the Netherlands Antilles, was hamming it up with Trish Chant-Sehl, the bid's manager of international relations.

"It's a nice souvenir," said Van Wilgen as he looked at the instant print.

Unlike other delegates who are not indicating publicly where their support lies, Van Wilgen said, "We are for Toronto."

He praised Toronto's technical bid, including the quality of venues as a bonus, but given that it's a secret ballot, the outcome is never known.

...

McGuinty is spending the rest of day in private one-and-one meetings with some undecided delegates, hoping to sway them to Toronto.

"It's not a complicated process. There are 52 votes to be had here," McGuinty told reporters. "It comes down to personal relationships."

While McGuinty has been on the phone from Toronto making his pitch over the past few weeks, he'll do the same again today.

"It's just dotting every 'i' and cross every 't' so that when all is said and done we can say we did everything we needed to do," he said. "It feels good, but you never know."

Here's hoping things go well tomorrow!

[Apple]

Decision time has arrived for Pan Am bid

November 05, 2009

By JOHN KERNAGHAN

The Hamilton Spectator

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/667519

Canada's Pan Am bid team honed its presentation and tracked delegates Thursday on the eve of the vote for the 2015 Games.

"This is about personal relationships at this point," Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said after a Toronto 2015 luncheon earlier. "It's pretty simple. There are 52 votes and I've been on the phone the last few weeks and then having one-on-ones here. We want to dot every i and cross every t."

The bid on behalf of southern Ontario would mean $170 million in sports and recreation development for Hamilton if McGuinty and the 50-strong contingent can get 27 of those votes.

Meantime, Barbados delegate Steve Stoute, a supporter of the Toronto bid, said the Pan Am movement needs a worry-free Games.

"I'll be devastated if they don't win. Going to Toronto will move these Games forward."

Stoute just returned from Delhi where the 2010 Commonwealth Games appear to be in peril due to unfinished projects.

The decision on the 2015 host will be made around 6 p.m. Friday.

[Apple]

Dalton's using Blair playbook

Work phones for Pan Am vote

November 06, 2009

John Kernaghan

The Hamilton Spectator

GUADALAJARA, Mexico

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/667682

Canada is working from the Tony Blair playbook, not the Barack Obama gambit in its quest to grasp the 2015 Pan Am flag today.

That means the bid's political leader works the phones and events well before voting day, as the then-British prime minister did to help London land the 2012 Olympics. U.S. President Obama was parachuted in late, and Chicago lost the 2016 vote.

"This is about personal relationships at this point," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday after a Toronto 2015 luncheon. "It's pretty simple. There are 52 votes and I've been on the phone the last few weeks and then having one-on-ones here. We want to dot every i and cross every t."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who agreed to back the bid with $500 million, was invited to help push the bid, but declined.

And bid chair David Peterson doesn't think a last-minute visit would mean much.

This is McGuinty's baby, anyway.

He said yesterday his campaign began 18 months ago when he sat at the cabinet table and asked ministers how many Olympic-sized pools there were in Ontario.

The answer was one and he also saw how Ontario athletes had to go to Quebec, Alberta or British Columbia to train and how Ontario was under-represented at the Olympics and other events.

McGuinty began his international push at the Beijing Olympics and was at the vote last month which sent the 2016 Olympics to Rio.

He also visited with Pan Am head Mario Vazquez Rana and the organizing committee of the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara.

McGuinty wouldn't tip his hand on what he'd say in the Toronto 2015 presentation today, but he stressed yesterday that the southern Ontario bid provides a safe haven for athletes, coaches and officials and that it is generally a given Canada delivers operationally excellent Games.

"We'll deliver with precision and pride."

He added there's some humour to the lobby effort as all three bid groups are claiming they can muster 30 votes.

"Either we do the bread and fishes thing or something has to give. There's not a lot of reliable intelligence."

Asked about criticism of committing $500 million to sports in a recession, he said: "There's never a bad time to give ourselves a boost. And I don't believe the after affects of this recession will last to 2015."

He said the Games are an investment in health because they can engage generations to be active, helping keep health costs down.

LAST CHANCE

Toronto 2015 has a chance to make the lasting impression when the Golden Horseshoe bid group makes the final bid presentation today.

The delegation, led by Premier Dalton McGuinty, is on at 11:30 Central time with a one-hour pitch containing addresses and video components, including the stirring Your Moment is Here theme song by the Canadian tenors.

The final rehearsal last night worked to hone the message and make sure it was free of technological glitches.

A question period will follow, then a lunch break followed by a call for votes in alphabetical order. It is a secret ballot.

If there is no first-ballot winner, the bid with the lowest vote total is eliminated. No vote totals are announced. Then a second vote is taken and the winner announced around 6 p.m. Hamilton time.

[Apple]

Spec Live: Live blog from Guadalajara

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/667899

[Blarghman]

Looks like the Toronto presentation has started, can be watched at CBCsports.ca

[Apple]

The video is breaking up but at 2pm the video will be at toronto2015.org. They got Bob Sinclar Sound of Freedom playing.

[Apple]

Oh they now have Nelly Furtado playing.

[dave199]

Toronto's presentation is outstanding. I didn't see the other two bids present earlier to properly judge but I think Toronto has these games wrapped up.

[dave199]

That final video presentation was just Gold....Great work Toronto 2015 team.