It’s official, the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Athletics Stadium is now the York Lions Stadium.
Above: From left, Toronto 2015 PanAm/Parapan Am CEO Saad Rafi and York West MPP Mario Sergio present a ceremonial key to the York Lions Stadium to York U President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri
An informal ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 17 marked the official handover of the stadium to York University. Saӓd Rafi, CEO of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Organizing Committee, and Mario Sergio, MPP, York West, presented a ceremonial key to York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri as University community members, and Athletics Canada and York University varsity track & field athletes looked on.
The handover marks the completion of a successful collaboration, which saw York University welcoming thousands of athletes from 41 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean this summer as a host venue for the track and field portion of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.
Canada has had the honour of hosting the games twice in the past, but the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games were a first for Toronto and a first for York U.
The York Lions Stadium is a multi-million dollar Tier 1 Track and Field facility that is a legacy of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. It will be a training and competition venue for York Lions athletes and larger events in track and field.
The Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are the world’s third largest international multi-sport games, held every four years immediately before the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.
In addition to hosting the track and field portion of the games, York University also hosted the tennis competition in the Aviva Centre (Canadian Tennis Centre).