Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is a sports complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by the City of Toronto government and the University of Toronto, it is located at the northern grounds of the University's Scarborough campus near the intersection of Highway 401 and Morningside Avenue in the suburb of Scarborough.

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Location in Toronto
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Location in Ontario
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Location in Canada
Full nameToronto Pan Am Sports Centre
Address875 Morningside Avenue
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43°47′25.19″N 79°11′35.88″W
OwnerUniversity of Toronto
City of Toronto government
CapacityAquatics Centre - 6,000
Field House - 2,000
Field size312,000 sq ft (29,000 m2)
Two 10-lane 50 metre pools
Dive tank
Four-court gymnasium
200 metre track
Construction
Broke ground27 September 2012
Built2012-2014
Opened2 September 2014
Construction cost$205 million
ArchitectNORR Limited
General contractorPCL Construction
Tenants
City of 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

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.[1] Funding for the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is the largest single investment in amateur sports in the history of Canada.

History
The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre under construction in May 2014.

The facility was funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the municipal government 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.[2] In 2011, the city of Toronto learned it had to contribute an extra $23 million for soil remediation on the former landfill.[3] The whole facility cost about $205 million Canadian dollars ($158 million to design and build it) which makes it the largest amount spent on amateur sport in Canada.[4]

The official ground breaking for the facility was on 27 September 2012 and was attended by dignitaries such as Mayor of Toronto, 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.[5][6]

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.[7][8]

Design
Entrance to the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre during the 2015 Pan Am Games.

The architect of the facility is David Clusiau. PCL Construction and NORR Ltd., signed a contract to design, build and finance the facility.[4] The facility was designed by Counsilman-Hunsaker, the company that designed the 1996 Summer Olympics aquatic centre.[9] The facility has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold label.[9]

Aquatics centre
Aquatics centre
The facility's aquatic centre
Building information
CityToronto, Ontario, Canada
Capacity6,000
Built2012-2014
Opened2 September 2014
Construction cost$205 million
Architect(s)NORR Limited
Home club(s)Toronto Varsity Blues
Pool
Length50m
Width25m
Depth5m
Lanes10

The Centre has 3 pools - The dive pool (25m), the competition pool (50m) and the training pool(50m). The competition pool has 3,500 seats.[1] The facility doubles the number of Olympic Standard Pools in Toronto. The dive pool has three diving platform heights (3, 7.5 and 10 metres) and a dry diving training centre.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1] 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.[1] Moreover, the facility contains weightlifting equipment and a training area.[4] It is also the home of the Canadian Sports Institute Ontario (CSIO).

Other facilities

The Centre also has a climbing wall, a fitness centre, retail store, food and beverage, and 200m walking track.

Major competitions hosted
Year Date Event Level
2015 February 6-8 Winter National Canadian Diving Championships National
2015 April 1-4 Canadian Swimming Trials National
2015 July 16–19 2015 Pan American Games International
2015 August 7–15 2015 Parapan American Games International
2016 April 5-10 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials National
2017 July 19-21 2017 North American Indigenous Games Continental
2017 September 28-29 2017 Invictus Games International
2019 April 3-7 Canadian Swimming Trials National
2020 March 30-April 5 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials National


References
  1. PanAm aquatics centre’s ‘dynamic silhouette’ to highlight transparency
  2. Province highlights winning bid for $158-million PanAm aquatics centre
  3. Toronto’s Pan Am costs to double
  4. Groundbreaking kicks-off start of construction for Pan Am and Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House presented by CIBC Archived 2012-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. City breaks ground on $158M aquatics centre for 2015 Pan Am Games
  6. Pan Am pools construction starts
  7. "Toronto 2017 North American Indigenous Games - Venues". North American Indigenous Games. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  8. "Venues". Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  9. Scarborough's Pan-Am pool designer created Atlanta Olympics facility
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