The Park, located along the shores of Lake Ontario is set to host up to 13 sports during the Games, making it the largest sport cluster for the event.

A total of five venues will be used at the Park with beach volleyball taking place at the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre while indoor volleyball, roller sports, figure skating, handball, squash and racquetball will be held at the Exhibition Centre.

The Toronto Coliseum will be home to artistic and rhythmic gymnastics as well as trampolining while the Ontario Place West Channel will host competition in open water swimming, waterski and wakeboard, triathlon, marathon, race-walking and road cycling.

"With the greatest concentration of sport competitions - 16 in total - during the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, CIBC Pan Am Park will be a huge celebration site for everyone, especially for fans who will want to see high calibre amateur sport competitions," said Toronto 2015 chief executive Saäd Rafi.

The park will involve the largest construction of temporary structures for the Games, including 15,000 temporary seats, 10 kilometres of fencing and more than 100 tents to be installed in early next year.

Organisers have revealed more than 3,000 tonnes of sand will be used to convert the Chevrolet Beach Volleyball Centre into an international standard venue while a specially constructed glass show court at the Exhibition Centre will offer spectators an unparalleled 360-degree viewing experience during squash competition.

The Government of Canada and City of Toronto are jointly funding upgrades to the West Channel breakwater for waterski and wakeboard competitions and the repaving of Lake Shore Boulevard for triathlon, athletics and cycling events in the park's footprint.

"It will be very exciting to experience all the world-class events taking place along Toronto's waterfront next summer during the 2015 Pan American and Parapan Am Games," said Canada's Minister for Sport Bal Gosal.

"Our Government is proud to support new and upgraded facilities for the Games, and we look forward to cheering on our Canadian athletes as they challenge for the podium on home soil."

As well as staging a number of sports the Pan Am Park will also host the PANAMANIA two-day festival featuring performances by a host of musical stars ©Toronto 2015



In addition to the sporting action, the Park will also house the Cisco International Broadcast Centre and the Main Press Centre.

It will also be the main site for the two-day PANAMANIA festival on July 11 and 12 that will feature performances from artists such as Soca music star Machel Montano from Trinidad, as well as Dwayne D' Bandit Pitt, Dr Jay de Socaprince and Cuban dance band Los Van Van.

As well as musical performances, a number of top Canadian athletes are scheduled to attend the festival, including Olympic, world and Pan American trampoline champion Rosie MacLennan, rugby union player, track cyclist and double Olympic bobsleigh champion Heather Moyse and Paralympic swimming gold medallist Benoît Huot.

"The CIBC Pan Am Park will be 'action central' - a hub for athletes, spectators and visitors to experience the excitement of the Games in a special setting," said Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games Michael Coteau.

"It will be the perfect spot for Ontario families and visitors to cheer on athletes and celebrate the spirit of the Games."

The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games are due to take place from July 10 to 26 and will be followed by the Parapan American Games which take place from August 7 to 14.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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