Thursday, March 5th 2009

By lee johnstone

After weeks of debating, Hamilton city council has voted to be a participant in the Southern Ontario bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Toronto will sign on as the official bidder, and Pan Am 2015 will bear Toronto’s name when necessary, but this bid is run by the province and sites for the Games will be spread across “the Greater Golden Horseshoe” including Barrie, St. Catherine’s and Oshawa.

Originally 1.7 billion dollars, the budget has been reduced to 1.42 billion dollars in the wake of the economic recession. Hamilton city council has approved the 60 million dollar plan to construct a stadium and velodrome for the Pan Am Games. This contribution, along with infrastructure infusions from the federal and provincial governments will be enough to build a 15,000-seat stadium. An additional 50 million dollars is being sought from private sources to allow the stadium to be expanded to 27,000 seats, which would give Hamilton a leading venue for community organizations and the city’s CFL franchise.

The Tiger-Cats have made it clear that they want to be a big player in the expansion plans. The Ivor Wynne stadium, where the Ti-Cats currently play, is well past its prime and costs the city over 1.4 million dollars a year in operating costs. A major renovation of the 80-year-old stadium was estimated at 93.7 million dollars this year. Maintenance costs just to keep the stadium going are estimated at 18 – 20 million dollars over the next five to ten years. This suggests that the decision to build a new stadium for the Pan Am games makes perfect financial sense. The remaining question is where the stadium will be located.

The council’s preferred site is land near the harbour front in West Hamilton, which will be subject to an environmental assessment that could rule out the site. Alternative locations include airport lands on Hamilton Mountain, and Confederation Park, just off Centennial Parkway.

Hamilton will have a key role in the Games, hosting some of the most popular sports and events. The current plan will have Hamilton host track and field at the new stadium, track cycling at the proposed velodrome, and volleyball at Copps Coliseum.

McMaster’s Executive Committee of the Board of Governors recently approved the University’s participation in the bid, which could include a new 50-metre pool on campus. “The University would have access to Games funds to help build the pool,” said Peter George. The current pool on campus is 40 years old and will require major repair if it is going to be useable in the long-term. It’s the only 50 metre pool in the city.

All the plans hinge on the bid being successful, but there is competition. Bids are due in April and the Pan American Sports Association will choose a winner in November. Southern Ontario is bidding against Bogota, Columbia and Lima, Peru.

The Pan American Games is a major international multi-sport event, held every four years. Competing are athletes from the 42 nations that are members of the Pan American Sports Organization. The 2015 event is expected to draw 10,000 athletes and officials as well as 250, 000 visitors.

Tags: 50-metre pool, Ivor Wynne Stadium, Pan Am Games