Built 2013–2015 Capacity 2,000 Owner Toronto | Opened 2015 Province Ontario | |
Location 256 Centennial Park Road, Toronto, Ontario Field size 350-metre, four straightaways, three banked turns Similar Ontario Place West Channel, Ajax Sportsplex, Back Campus Fields, Chevrolet Beach Volleyball, Royal Canadian Henley R | ||
The Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre is a BMX cycling facility at Centennial Park in Toronto, Canada, that hosted BMX Cycling at the 2015 Pan American Games. During the games the venue included temporary seating for 2,000 spectators.
Description
Prior to its development, the site was an empty grass area next Centennial Park's baseball diamonds at the corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Centennial Park Road.
The BMX facility cost $4.41 million Canadian dollars to build and features a 350-metre track in a closed loop design consisting of four straightaways, three banked turns, and multiple jumps. The track includes two start ramps; an 8-metre starting platform for professional and international competitions and a 5-metre platform for youths and beginners.
The facility was originally supposed to be built at Ontario Place but was moved to Centennial Park for unknown reasons. The move did face opposition from local councillor Doug Holyday who said "We want people to come with their families [to Centennial] and be able to sit down and have a picnic. We want to be able to walk around the place without getting hit by a baseball or run over by a bike. And that's the way the place should be."
Upon the completion of the games, the facility was opened for public use. The facility is open from dawn to dusk daily, from May 1 to October 31, and is maintained by the City of Toronto.