Pan Am Games hopefuls make case to host meet

The ten affiliates of the National Olympic Committee of St Vincent and the Grenadines will, this Thursday, from 5 p.m., give an audience to a delegation from Peru, as that country vies to host the XVIII Pan American Games in 2019.{{more}}

The Peruvians are set to make their case at the Xpert Computer Centre from 5 p.m.

Their submissions follow a presentation by another of the prospective hosts, Chile, who were here recently.

The four-member Chilean delegation was led by president of that country’s national Olympic committee Neven Ilic Alvarez, vice president Miguel Angel Mujica, director Jorge Silva and advisor Gonzalo Escobedo.

And, already St Vincent and the Grenadines stands to benefit, as an offer is on to have Vincentian athletes sent to a high performance centre in Chile, in preparation for the Pan Am Games.

Alvarez, who spearheaded the presentation, said that his organisation is willing to fund all expenses for Vincentian athletes desirous of utilizing its modern training facilities.

Alvarez said that with the support of the Chilean government, they propose to spend US$658 million on getting their country ready for 2019.

He disclosed that the bulk of the expenditure, $266 million, has been budgeted for operations cost, with another $200 million allocated to infrastructure.

Alvarez said his committee will take care of the expenses of teams travelling to the game, once Santiago is awarded the games.

He added that the Pan Am Games 2019, once given to Chile, will be different from the previous ones, as participants will be allowed to see other sporting disciplines as the timing and programming of the events will accommodate such.

Alvarez also disclosed that a day has been set aside to have all the participants of the 2019 games taken on a sightseeing tour of the host city, as well as other places of interest in Chile.

And, as a precursor to the possible hosting of the 2019 games, Alvarez stated that they will test run their ability when they undertake to host the South American Games in 2014.

Alvarez said that his country is adept at hosting large events and reminded those present that they hosted football’s world showpiece, the World Cup in 1962.

Apart from Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru, La Punta, Argentina and Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela are the other cities bidding to host the games.

Voting takes place in October this year, at the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) General Assembly.

Forty-one countries make up the Pan American grouping. (RT)