Venues of the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games

The Pan Am Ceremonies Venue hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2015 Pan American Games

The 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games venues are mostly located in the host city of Toronto, though some other events require facilities located elsewhere. Since the successful bid for the 2015 Pan American Games, some details have changed, with ongoing developments and announcements taking place.^[1] Besides Toronto fourteen other municipalities in Southern Ontario hosted competitions: Ajax, Hamilton, Innisfil, Markham, Milton, Minden, Mississauga, Mono, Oro-Medonte, Oshawa, Palgrave, St. Catharines and Welland.^[2]

Sporting venues

A map of the fifteen host cities

In total, 28 venues were used during the 2015 Pan American Games.

The 2015 Games use a mixture of newly built venues, existing facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well known locations such as Exhibition Place and Centennial Park. Some of the new facilities were to be reused in their Pan American Games form (for example the BMX track), while others were reduced in size (for example the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre).

All venue capacities listed below are found in the strategic framework for transportation published by the Government of Ontario.^[3]

Naming

Toronto Coliseum during the gymnastics competitions

The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) and the Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee have a number of major sponsors for the Pan American Games, who are entitled to have their name exclusively associated with the event. As a consequence, any other company that provides sponsorship is not permitted to use its name or branding during the games, which includes venue naming rights (including those not provided by corporate sponsorship and those named in honor of people).

As a consequence of this, eight Pan American venues are temporarily renamed for the duration of the Games:

• BMO Field – Exhibition Stadium
• General Motors Centre – Oshawa Sports Centre
• Hershey Centre – Mississauga Sports Centre
• Ricoh Coliseum – Toronto Coliseum
• Direct Energy Centre - Exhibition Centre
• Rexall Centre – Canadian Tennis Centre
• Rogers Centre – Pan Am Ceremonies Venue
• Tim Hortons Field - CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium

CIBC Pan Am Park

Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre

The Toronto Pan Am Park encompasses all of the facilities within Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto. The Pan Am Park included the name of the lead partner in sponsorship, CIBC.^[4] This Zone consists of six venues.^[2] Exhibition Centre had three different halls hosting events,^[5] while the Ontario Place West Channel had two grandstands (one each for water and road based sports).^[6] Furthermore, the marathon, race walks and road races in cycling had their start and finish lines at the West Channel. The remainder of the race occurred all the way into High Park and back.^[6] The park contains:

Venue	Sports		Capacity	Ref.
	Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre	Beach volleyball	—	5,000	[7]
Exhibition Centre	Volleyball Handball, Roller sports (artistic) Racquetball, Squash	—	4,900 2,000 1,000	[5]
Exhibition Stadium	Rugby sevens	—	22,000	[8]
Ontario Place West Channel	Athletics (marathon/race walk), Cycling (road race), Triathlon (cycling/run) Open water swimming, Triathlon (swim), Water skiing	Cycling (road race)	750	[6]
Toronto Coliseum	Gymnastics (Artistic, rhythmic and trampoline)	—	7,252	[9]

Rest of Toronto

CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Athletics Stadium during the first day of athletics competition

The Ryerson Athletic Centre during the basketball competitions

University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre during the wheelchair tennis competition

Varsity Stadium

Venue	Sports		Capacity	Reference
	Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
Canadian Tennis Centre	Tennis	—	8,500^1	[10]
Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre	Cycling (BMX)	—	2,000	[11]
CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House	Diving, Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming, Synchronized swimming Fencing, Modern pentathlon (fencing) Modern pentathlon (jumping/combined event)	Swimming Sitting volleyball	5,200 1,000 1,000	[12]
CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Athletics Stadium	Athletics (track and field events)	Athletics (track and field events), Ceremony (opening)	12,000	[13]
Nathan Phillips Square	—	Ceremony (closing)	2,000	[14]
Pan Am Bowling Centre	Bowling	—	150	[15]
Pan Am Ceremonies Venue	Ceremonies (opening/closing)	—	45,000	[16]
Pan Am / Parapan Am Fields	Field hockey	Football 5-a-side, Football 7-a-side	2,000	[17]
Ryerson Athletic Centre	Basketball	Wheelchair basketball	3,000	[18]
Royal Canadian Yacht Club & Sugar Beach	Sailing	—	1,000^2	[19]
St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School	Roller sports (speed)	-		[20][21]
University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre	—	Wheelchair tennis	1,000	[22]
Varsity Stadium	Archery	Archery	2,000	[23]

1. ^ A main grandstand court of 6,500 (was used for medal sessions only), plus seven other courts ranging in capacity from 200 to 1,625.
2. ^ Only seating room available.

Haliburton

Venue	City	Sports		Capacity	Reference
		Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
Minden Wild Water Preserve	Minden Hills	Canoeing (slalom)	—	500	[24]

Hamilton and Niagara

Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course

Venue	City	Sports		Capacity	Reference
		Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium	Hamilton	Football	—	22,000	[25]
Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course	St. Catharines	Rowing	—	2,250	[26]
Welland Pan Am Flatwater Centre	Welland	Canoeing (sprint)	—	1,100	[27]

Peel Region, Halton and Simcoe

The Mississauga Sports Centre during the wrestling competition

The Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome

Venue	City	Sports		Capacity	Reference
		Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
Caledon Equestrian Park	Palgrave	Equestrian (Dressage, Eventing and Jumping)	—	4,000	[28]
Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome	Milton	Cycling (track/road cycling time trials)	Cycling (track/road cycling time trials)	2,000	[29]
Hardwood Mountain Bike Park	Oro-Medonte	Cycling (mountain biking)	—	5,250	[30]
Mississauga Sports Centre	Mississauga	Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Wrestling	Goalball Powerlifting, Wheelchair rugby	300 5,500	[31]
Pan Am Cross-Country Centre	Mono	Equestrian (Cross-Country portion of eventing)	—	10,000	[32]
Pan Am Shooting Centre	Innisfil	Shooting	—	350	[33]

York Region and Durham

Oshawa Sports Centre during the boxing competions

Venue	City	Sports		Capacity	Reference
		Pan American Games	Parapan American Games
Abilities Centre	Whitby	—	Boccia, Judo	750	[34]
Angus Glen Golf Club	Markham	Golf	—	2,000	[35]
Atos Markham Pan Am / Parapan Am Centre	Markham	Badminton, Table tennis, Water polo	Table tennis	2,000	[36]
Oshawa Sports Centre	Oshawa	Boxing Weightlifting	—	3,000	[37]
President’s Choice Ajax Pan Am Ballpark	Ajax	Baseball Softball	—	8,000	[38]

Original Plan

The venue plan has been vastly changed from the original plan, with sixty percent of the 51 original venues being dropped.^[39] The venues were to be divided into three zones - Central Games Zone (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Richmond Hill and Markham), West Games Zone (Hamilton) and East Games Zone (Oshawa, Ajax and Pickering). In addition there were also be venues located outside these zones in Barrie, St. Catharines, Palgrave, Minden and Welland.^[40] Ian Troop the CEO of the Organizing Committee said the venue plan was changed because, "the benefits of clustering are that you create economies of scale, the goal for our refined and improved venue plan is to reduce the operational complexities of the event, save costs, deliver an athlete-centred Games that facilitates great performance and create a much richer spectator experience.”^[41] Among the changes included the city's largest arena the Air Canada Centre being dropped, due to the organizing committee feeling none of the events warranted that amount of seating (20,000) and the desire to have full venues. Also the cities of Richmond Hill, Burlington and Brampton among others were dropped as host cities.^[42] Organizers later revealed a plan that put the majority of venues have into nine cluster zones within the Greater Toronto Area: the Toronto Pan Am Park, Abilities Centre cluster, Etobicoke, Markham, Mississauga, Scarborough, University of Toronto (downtown) and York University clusters. In addition to these there was fourteen venues that was to be outside the boundaries of the Greater Toronto Area.^[43] This plan was later replaced with the current venue proposal of five venue zones.^[2]

References

1. GB Staff (January 27, 2012). "Toronto 2015 Changes Original Plan". GamesBids. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
2. "NOC News - 2015 Pan American Games". www.canoc.net. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
3. "Volume One Strategic Framework for Transportation". https://www.ontario.ca/. Government of Ontario. February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014. External link in |website= (help)
4. "2015 Pan American Games - CIBC". CIBC. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
5. "Exhibition Centre". TO2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
6. "Ontario Place West Channel". TO2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
7. "Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre". Toronto 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games. Retrieved August 2014.
8. "Exhibition Stadium". TO2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
9. "Toronto Coliseum". TO2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
10. "Canadian Tennis Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
11. "Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
12. "Pan Am and Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Fieldhouse presented by CIBC". TO2015. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
13. "CIBC Pan Am and Parapan Am Athletics Stadium". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
14. "Live Nation Joins TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games". http://www.toronto2015.org/. TO2015. August 13, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
15. "Pan Am Bowling Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
16. "Pan Am Ceremonies Venue". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
17. "Pan Am / Parapan Am Fields". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
18. "Ryerson Athletic Centre". TO2015. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
19. "Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games Ticket Program Guide" (PDF). TO2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
20. Andrew Palamarchuk (July 3, 2015). "Pan Am roller speed skating venue moved to Scarborough high school". InsideToronto.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
21. "Pan Am Games: How to experience Toronto 2015 without a ticket". CBC News. July 17, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
22. "University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
23. "Varsity Stadium". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
24. "Minden Wild Water Preserve". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
25. "CIBC Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
26. "Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
27. "Welland Pan Am Flatwater Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
28. "Caledon Equestrian Park". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
29. "Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
30. "Hardwood Mountain Bike Park". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
31. "Mississauga Sports Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
32. "Pan Am Cross-Country Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
33. "Pan Am Shooting Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
34. "Abilities Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
35. "Angus Glen Golf Club". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
36. "Atos Markham Pan Am / Parapan Am Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
37. "Oshawa Sports Centre". TO2015. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
38. "President’s Choice Ajax Pan Am Ballpark". TO2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
39. Antonella Artuso (January 27, 2012). "Toronto Pan Am Games changes source of concerns". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
40. "Toronto 2015 Pan Am Bid Team Unveils Venue Plan". TO2015. February 18, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
41. "Venue Clusters: The New Normal in International Multi-sport Events". TO2015. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
42. Adam McLean (Mar 23, 2012). "Richmond Hill won’t swing at Pan Am pitch". yorkregion.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
43. "The "People’s Games" — Accessible, Affordable for Families". Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. TO2015. May 11, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.

External links

• Toronto 2015 Venue information