Toronto selected to host '15 Pan American Games

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) -- Toronto, which failed twice in bids to land the summer Olympics, was selected to host the 2015 Pan American Games on Friday.

In a secret ballot by the Pan American Sports Organization, Toronto won on the first round with 33 votes, eliminating Lima, Peru, which received 11, and Bogota, which earned 7. One vote of the 52 was null.

"This is a day of celebration, a moment of joy. We won this honor and are very thankful," said Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario. "The quality of the competition was very hard. Lima and Bogota were great rivals and I'm sure that they will host the games someday."

Canada has held the event twice -- in Winnipeg in 1967 and 1999.

The 2007 games were in Rio de Janeiro, which served as a springboard last month for its winning bid for the 2016 Olympics.

"We will not let you down," Toronto bid chairman David Peterson told delegates. "We will work with you for the next four years and I want to welcome you to Toronto. I also want to thank Bogota and Lima. We made friends through this race."

In its presentation on Friday, Toronto emphasized that many of the facilities needed for the games were already built. Officials suggested their option was "risk free" and said they were planning to build an athletes' village and an aquatic center, no matter the outcome of the vote.

The vote came in the shadow of problems facing Guadalajara, which is to hold the 2011 games. Mexico's second city is facing major delays in organization. On Thursday, Guadalajara officials were given two weeks to come up with a guarantee to pay $50 million if the Mexican city fails to deliver on its promise to host the games.

Toronto officials said the games would be held from July 10-26, 2015, with the Parapan American Games set for Aug. 7-14.

The Toronto delegation was headed by Mayor David Miller and McGuinty.

The delegations from Colombia and Peru were both led by heads of government -- Colombia President Alvaro Uribe and Peru President Alan Garcia.

"We had hoped Bogota would be the venue, but we have to accept the results and move ahead. It was a clean fight," Uribe said.

Garcia suggested Toronto's victory came down to finances.

"In the case of Toronto, it seems the most important thing was it (Canada) has one of the most solid economies in the world," Garcia said. "In times like these it seems they are looking for more profits ... through television for large audiences like the Canadian-North American market. "Though we'd like to have won, we're happy Peru has had a presence here, though other arguments won out."

In his presentation just before the vote, Garcia urged voters to choose the venue on something other than money issues. Peru has never hosted the Pan American Games. Colombia held them once, in Cali in 1971.

"This is not a real estate auction, nor is it a competition about who is the richest," Garcia said.

Arturo Woodman, the president of the Peruvian Institute of Sports, said he was "disappointed and disillusioned."

"Undoubtedly sad, but still optimistic," Woodman said. "We've broken through the barrier to put ourselves in the mix for events like this at the top level."

The first Pan American Games were held in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Of the 42 member nations of the Pan Am Sports Organization, only 10 have hosted the event.