A $40-million velodrome for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games will be built in the Town of Milton.
Town council voted in favour of the project at a meeting Jan. 30.
The velodrome will be built within the Milton Education Village at Louis St. Laurent and Tremaine roads.
Construction is expected to start this summer with completion by 2014.
Ian Troop, chief executive officer of the 2015 Games, thanked the Town of Milton for making the velodrome a reality.
“This is the result of sound deliberation and an appreciation for the potential associated with a permanent velodrome,” he said.
The velodrome will house a 250-metre oval cycling track with banked corners and 1,500 permanent seats.
The infield portion of the track will be large enough to hold the equivalent of three regulation-sized basketball courts and could be used for many different activities.
Other potential spaces in the building could include a fitness centre, walking/jogging track and other associated amenities.
Milton was announced as the preferred site for the velodrome by the Games committee in December 2011.
Olympian Curt Harnett said the decision is a great day for cycling and amateur sport in Canada.
“This will result in a world-class facility that will make Milton a cycling hub for the surrounding community, the province and eastern Canada.”
The 2015 Games committee is paying $22 million of the cost of building the velodrome. The local share of $19.8 million will come from:
- Town of Milton: $3.8 million
- Milton Education Village: $2.5 million
- Private sector partners, including pledged donations, sponsorships and fundraising: $13.5 million
The Games are one of the world’s largest international multi-sport events, held every four years for athletes of the 41-member nations of the Pan American Sports Organization.