Toronto gears up for Pan Am Games evaluation

An evaluation committee will pay a visit to Toronto later this week as part of the process to select a host city for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

The Pan American Sports Organization's (PASO) Evaluation Commission will be in the Ontario capital on Aug. 30 and 31, visiting proposed venues and facilities for the 2015 games. The committee will assess elements of Toronto's bid and report its findings to PASO, the organization in charge of the games and whose member nations vote to award hosting rights

Former Ontario premier David Peterson, now chair of Toronto's 2015 bid committee, welcomes the scrutiny.

"We're thrilled to welcome the evaluation commission and are ready to make our case as the ideal city to host the 2015 Pan American Games," Peterson said in a new release.

"We've worked very hard to put together an excellent bid. We now have the chance to show PASO first-hand the world-class venues, infrastructure, attractions and exciting new facilities that we can deliver."

Toronto's rivals in the battle to win hosting rights for the 2015 Games are Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia.

The final bid presentation and vote is scheduled to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, in November.

The Pan Am Games is a major international multi-sport event, held every four years for athletes from 42 countries.

Rio de Janeiro staged the last Pan Am Games in July 2007 and the next edition will take place in Guadalajara in October 2011.