Q and A: The new Pan American/ Parapan Games boss

Saad Rafi is helping to bring the world to Toronto.

The newly-appointed CEO of the 2015 Pan American/ Parapan American Games, Rafi is the main organizational force behind what is expected to become the largest multi-sport games ever held on Canadian soil.

With less than 500 days now remaining until the opening ceremonies, CP24.com recently spoke with the former deputy health minister about what prompted him to take over the controversy plagued file, what kind of games he wants to help stage and what legacy those games will leave behind.

Q: You have joined the Pan American Games organizing committee fairly late in the process, officially taking over from fired CEO Ian Troop in January. What made you want to take on this job so late in the game?

A: Well one of the things I found about these games is that they are really about building the region with 15 municipalities involved as well as the provincial and federal governments and that to me was really exciting and it is something I considered a privilege and an honour to be able to do.

Q: Give me a status update. Are we on schedule 500 days out?

A: I think we are very much on schedule and on point. From an infrastructure and facilities point of view we are on time and in certain cases we are ahead of schedule and essentially on budget as well, which is very, very critical. In terms of games planning we are working very closely with the governing bodies, which are the national Olympic committees, as well as PASO (Pan American Sports Organization) and we now have plans in place for athletes and the venues themselves. The team here has made terrific progress overall.

Q: What kind of games do you want to see the city host?

A: I think the opportunity that presents itself to this region is to kind of reinforce our diverse multicultural nature and our rich cultural heritage while also offering very sophisticated venues. Imagine 250, 000 people coming here and feeling as though they are at home because of our multicultural nature, getting a true experience of the region and then excelling on the field. The other thing I don’t want to lose sight of is creating very accessible games. We are aiming to have 70 to 75 per cent of our tickets under $45 and they will also be very accessible games in that the venues are intimate and you will be close to the athletes and the experience.

Q: One of the major benefits in hosting a major event like this is the opportunity to showcase the city as well as the athletes. Will the organizing committee seize that opportunity?

A: We are working with our cultural partners to do just that. We have commissioned art by Latin American and Caribbean artists, we are going to use Nathan Phillips Square for medal ceremonies every night with live music and different cultural acts there and the various cultural organizations in the Golden Horseshoe will all be featuring Pan-American culture in all sorts of different ways. We really want to provide a cultural and ethnic experience for our visitors and our citizens as well as an athletic one.

Q: What will it be like to be in Toronto in July, 2015? Will these games permeate city life?

A: That is exactly what we are expecting to do. If you are a sports fan you will be able to go to the fan fest area and if you are more of an arts and culture fan you will be able to visit the multitude of museums and galleries in our region as well as the festivals we will be putting on. We are hoping to put on not only the best Pan American Games ever, but something that will be remembered as a huge and exciting festival in this region for years and years to come.

Q: Antidodatly, it doesn’t seem like people are talking about these games yet. Is that a concern for you?

A: It (public interest) has to ramp up for sure, but our unaided awareness is quite high already. It is at 45 per cent and by July we want it to be at 50 per cent. That is quite remarkable for any large multi-sport event. The thing is that like others, and Vancouver was no exception, we tend to turn our minds to things that are closer on the horizon. The planning started four years ago, so it was a five-and-a-half year lead time and right now we are just taking a sort of save the date approach. We want people to save the summer of 2015 and we will be building up the excitement through a series of events that will get people aware of what is coming and get them excited about both the cultural and sporting aspects.

Q: One of the things about an event like the Pan American Games is that it can be a launching pad to other things. In fact, Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut said as much the other day when he hinted that Toronto could follow Rio’s model in parlaying a successful Pan American Games into a future Olympic bid. Are you conscious of how much is riding on these games in terms of the city’s ability to host other big events in the future, whether it is an Olympics, a World Cup or something else?

A: When the bid went in it was really all about the Pan Am Games and the Parapan Games and that is my clear and undeterred focus. I will leave to others the question of whether the city should or should not bid. That is not my call and certainly not my focus. My focus has to be and will be on delivering the best (Pan American) Games ever.

Q: What will the legacy of these games be?

A: Well, first there is a sport legacy. We are going to do what Winter Games have done in Canada for summer athletes. We are going to have the first permanent velodrome in Canada, we are going the only multi-sport shooting facility in North America in Innisfil and we are going to have Olympic qualifying calibre pools in Scarborough, so there will be a sport legacy that will help not only help the high-performance athletes of today but those of tomorrow. There will also be an economic legacy. The province has estimated that the GDP in this region will increase by $3.7 billion from 2009 to 2015 and certainly sports tourism is an area that we could take advantage of as well. As I mentioned Innisfil will have this shooting facility in their backyard and they may do three, four, maybe six provincial, national and international events a year that will bring people from all over to the wonderful region that is Innisfil and Whitby/Ajax will have the same opportunity with its baseball and softball facilities. I could go on and on. Lastly, I think there will be a social legacy. As I mentioned earlier, we are really going to celebrate the ethnocultural diversity of this region and when it’s over we will have put in place additional cultural festivals that we can all take part in year after year after year.

Q: The venues for these games basically spread from Oshawa to Welland, so it really is a GTA wide event. What sort of planning is being done to ensure gridlock doesn’t cause chaos for athletes and spectators alike?

A: Having various sites and venues spread out across the region was a conscious decision in the bid and I think a good decision. It allows this region to show that it is made up of many very distinct yet interconnected hubs. Now, whenever something like that takes place one has to be vigilant on the transportation front and the province has taken a leadership role on a strategic framework for transportation and I am encouraged by that. Along with the province, we are also working with each municipality on a local area transportation plan. I feel very good about the cooperation and level of progress that has already been made on that front.

@chrisfoxnews is on Twitter. Q and A is published every Saturday on CP24.com. Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.