Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Explained

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Fullname:Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Address:875 Morningside Avenue
Location:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates:43.7903°N -79.1933°W
Pushpin Map:Canada Toronto#Canada Ontario#Canada
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Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Toronto##Location in Ontario##Location in Canada
Broke Ground:27 September 2012
Built:2012-2014
Opened:2 September 2014
Owner:City of Toronto
University of Toronto Scarborough
Construction Cost:$205 million
Architect:NORR Limited
General Contractor:PCL Construction
Capacity:Aquatics Centre - 6,000 (Pan/Parapan Games), 3,500 (legacy mode)
Field House - 2,000
Dimensions:312000square feet
Two 10-lane 50 metre pools
Dive tank
Four-court gymnasium
200 metre track
Tenants:Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation
University of Toronto Scarborough Athletics & Recreation
Canadian Sports Institute Ontario
2015 Pan American Games
2015 Parapan American Games
2017 North American Indigenous Games
2017 Invictus Games
Scarborough Shooting Stars (2022–present)
Native Name:French: Centre sportif panaméricain de Toronto

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC;) is a sports complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Co-owned by the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto Scarborough,[1] it is operated by TPASC Inc., with programming offered by both the university and Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation.[2] It is located on the northern grounds of the university's campus near the intersection of Highway 401 and Morningside Avenue.

Opened to the public on September 2, 2014, the complex consists of a 3,500-seat aquatics arena (6,000 during the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games) with two Olympic-size swimming pools and a diving well; and a 2,000-seat field house that includes four full-sized gymnasiums, a fitness centre, a climbing wall, and a 200-metre track. The centre hosted diving, fencing, swimming, synchronized swimming and modern pentathlon competitions during the 2015 Pan American Games. Funding for the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is the largest single investment in amateur sports in the history of Canada.

History

The facility was funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto. In 2009, students at the University of Toronto Scarborough voted in favour of a 25-year levy which will contribute about $30 million to the facility.[3] In 2011, the City of Toronto learned it had to contribute an extra $23 million for soil remediation on the former landfill.[4] The whole facility cost about CA$205 million ($158 million to design and build it) which makes it the largest amount spent on amateur sport in Canada.[5]

The official ground breaking for the facility was on 27 September 2012 and was attended by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. The facility was announced then as the largest venue being built for the 2015 Pan American Games and represents the largest federal investment in amateur sport in Canadian history.[6] [7]

In addition to the 2015 Pan Am Games, the facility has hosted several other events for the North American Indigenous Games and the Invictus Games in 2017.[8] [9]

Design

The architect of the facility is David Clusiau. PCL Construction and NORR Ltd., signed a contract to design, build and finance the facility.[5] The facility was designed by Counsilman-Hunsaker, the company that designed the 1996 Summer Olympics aquatic centre.[10] The facility has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold label.[10]

Aquatics centre

Aquatics centre
City:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Capacity:6,000
Built:2012-2014
Opened:2 September 2014
Construction Cost:$205 million
Architects:NORR Limited
Home Clubs:Toronto Varsity Blues
Length:50m
Width:25m
Deep:5m
Lanes:10

The centre has three pools: the dive pool (25m), the competition pool (50m) and the training pool (50m). The competition pool has 3,500 seats.[11] The facility doubles the number of Olympic pools in Toronto. The dive pool has three diving platform heights (3, 7.5 and 10 metres) and a dry diving training centre.[11] The centre is the only aquatics facility in the area that meets international competition standards and the first facility with a warm-up pool. The competition pool is regarded as one of the fastest pools in the world.[11] Public lane swim and leisure swim typically takes place in the training pool, while team practice and competition takes place in the competition pool. Ticket prices for lane swim are the same as other City pools.

Field house

The field house is adjacent to the aquatics centre and seats 2,000 people. The field house hosted fencing and modern pentathlon (fencing portion) events during the 2015 Games.[11] The field house consists of three gymnasiums, a 200-metre indoor running facility, racquet sports courts and a centre for fitness which the entire school community can use.[11] Moreover, the facility contains weightlifting equipment and a training area.[5] It is also the home of the Canadian Sports Institute Ontario (CSIO). Starting in 2022, the field house will play host to home games for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

Other facilities

The centre also has a climbing wall, a fitness centre, retail store, food and beverage, a 200m walking track, and offices currently used by Swim Ontario,[12] North York Aquatic Club, Scarborough Swim Club, Whitby Swimming [13] and others.

Major competitions hosted

YearDateEventLevel
2015February 6–8Winter National Canadian Diving ChampionshipsNational
2015April 1–4Canadian Swimming TrialsNational
2015July 16–192015 Pan American GamesInternational
2015August 7–152015 Parapan American GamesInternational
2016April 5–10Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming TrialsNational
2017July 19–212017 North American Indigenous GamesContinental
2017September 28–292017 Invictus GamesInternational
2019April 3–7Canadian Swimming TrialsNational
2020March 30-April 5Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming TrialsNational
2022October 28-30FINA Swimming World CupInternational
2023March 28-April 2Canadian Swimming TrialsNational[14] [15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. 6 March 2017 .
  2. Web site: Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Athletics & Recreation. 2021-02-16. www.utsc.utoronto.ca.
  3. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/province-highlights-winning-bid-for-158-million-panam-aquatics-centre/article4387523/ Province highlights winning bid for $158-million PanAm aquatics centre
  4. https://www.thestar.com/sports/panamgames/article/921432--toronto-s-pan-am-costs-to-double Toronto’s Pan Am costs to double
  5. http://www.toronto2015.org/lang/en/gallery/news/groundbreaking-kicks-off-start-of-construction-for-pan-am-and-parapan-am-aquatics-centre-and-field-h.html Groundbreaking kicks-off start of construction for Pan Am and Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House presented by CIBC
  6. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/27/city-breaks-ground-on-158m-aquatics-centre-for-2015-pan-am-games/ City breaks ground on $158M aquatics centre for 2015 Pan Am Games
  7. http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/27/pan-am-pools-construction-starts Pan Am pools construction starts
  8. News: Toronto 2017 North American Indigenous Games - Venues. North American Indigenous Games. September 25, 2016.
  9. Web site: Venues. Invictus Games Toronto 2017. September 25, 2016.
  10. http://www.insidetoronto.com/sports/article/1388387--scarborough-s-pan-am-pool-designer-created-atlanta-olympics-facility Scarborough's Pan-Am pool designer created Atlanta Olympics facility
  11. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/panam-aquatics-centres-dynamic-silhouette-to-highlight-transparency/article4390868/ PanAm aquatics centre’s ‘dynamic silhouette’ to highlight transparency
  12. Web site: Swim Ontario .
  13. Web site: Redirecting .
  14. News: May 5, 2022 . Toronto's Pan Am Sports Centre to host FINA Swimming World Cup in October . The Globe and Mail . October 29, 2022.
  15. News: Gillespie . Kerry . October 26, 2022 . World Cup swimming comes to Toronto, a rare home game for Canada's best . The Toronto Star . October 29, 2022.