Toronto in line for Pan Am athletes village if Games bid successful

The final submission for the Golden Horseshoe 2015 Pan Am Games bid is still a few months away, but if the bid is successful the city of Toronto could be in line for one of the biggest prizes.

In anticipation of winning the Games, the organizing committee will release within the next few weeks a list of where the hundreds of millions of dollars for new athletic and housing facilities would be spent.

As many as four new swimming pools would be built, along with other facilities to accommodate track and field and other sports. The venues would be spread across the Golden Horseshoe, from Niagara to Durham.

But the biggest prize would be the athletes village, and one source has told CBC News that the village would be built in Toronto, either on the West Don Lands or at York University.

The total cost of the Pan Am facilities would be close to $1 billion. 

The president of the Pan Am bid, Jagoda Pike, said regions other than Toronto would also benefit from the investment since the new facilities would be spread across the Golden Horseshoe.

"I think folks understand they can't have [everything] they would like. There's a longer wish list than there is money to fund it.  But so far, it's been very constructive," she said.

The new sports infrastructure would also help boost the economy in the Golden Horseshoe.

The final bids are due to be submitted to the organizing committee by April. 

The final decision on which city will get the 2015 Games is due this fall.

The Golden Horseshoe bid is up against three South American cities: Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; and Lima, Peru.

If the Ontario bid is successful construction could start in the spring of 2010.