A state-of-the-art athletic centre will be constructed
UTSC in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Efforts are well underway at Morningside
Avenue and Military Trail. Three construction
companies were pre-qualified to help design
and build the facility at the beginning of June.
Soil is undergoing remediation until December,
but major work on the facility’s infrastructure
is on track to start before the end
of the year.
The athletic centre is expected to be completed
between May and June 2014 according
to Bob O’Doherty, Senior Vice President of
Sport and Venue at the Games.
The construction of the centre is estimated
to cost $170 million, and according to
O’Doherty, the Federal and Provincial governments,
City of Toronto, and U of T will all
play a role in funding it.
“Its not too often that a university has the
opportunity to get involved in a project like
this,” O’Doherty said.
The state-of-the-art facility will is set to
include the Pan American Aquatics Centre
(PAAC), the Field House, and the Canadian
Sports Institute Ontario (CSIO) Project.
According to O’Doherty, the Aquatics Centre
will be a “world class facility,” consisting of
“two 50m pools and a five-metre-deep diving
tank” will host aquatic events such as swimming,
synchronized swimming and diving.
The Field House is a gym facility. According
to O’Doherty, it will be equivalent in size to
four baske tball courts and have a recreational
track for running. During the Games, the Field
House will host fencing competitions.
The Canadian Sports Institute Ontario (CSIO)
will serve as a national high performance centre
after the games close, providing “things
like sports science, sports medicine, coaching,
training and a testing facility [for] high-performance
athletes in Ontario.”
Heidi Calder, the Co-Director of Athletics and
Recreation for UTSC, believes that this new facility
will help expand the sporting life of U of T.
“Programming-wise, we will more than quadruple
the amount of opportunities for fitness
and athletics our students have,” Calder said,
noting the facility could have other potential
benefits in academic life such as masters programs
in sports and sports management.
Calder also acknowledged that with this
new facility, varsity sports and varsity programming
“can be decentralized.”
Varsity swimmers, for instance, could train
out in Scarborough instead of being confined
to the St. George campus.
Pagalavan Thavarajah, president of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union, believes the facility will be beneficial to students,
faculty and the broader Scarborough
community but shares public concern about
the accessibility of the centre.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has, however, acknowledged
the issue, stating in numerous reports
that his public transportation plans will
be realized in time to accommodate the Games.
Ultimately, the athletics centre will hopefully
not only be a world class venue for the
2015 Pan Am Games, but a legacy that will
affect generations to come at UTSC and the
Scarborough community.
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE PAN AM GAMES
The Games are held
every four years and
usually one year before
the Olympic Summer
Games.
The first Pan Am Games
were hosted in 1951 in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Toronto will be hosting the
Pan Am Games in 2015.
The Games have struggled
recently to get the same
attention from the media
and top athletes as the
Olympics.
They feature over 42
participating countries
from all over the Americas
with an average of 5000
athletes competing.
