Introduction

Sporting events of an international caliber are important occasions for celebration of athletic performance and community spirit. Hosting of international amateur sport events offers Ontario and its communities the opportunity to welcome visitors, internationally showcase the Province and its communities, and supports the Province’s sport, recreation and physical activity culture.

The purpose of this Policy is to provide a clear framework for determining the Government of Ontario’s involvement in the hosting (or staging) of major sport events in Ontario.

International Amateur Sport Events Defined

To be eligible for Government of Ontario endorsement and support for hosting of an international amateur sport event, organizations seeking such support must demonstrate that the event will meet the following conditions:

The sport event has been sanctioned by an international sport federation that is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, or an International Games

Federation (e.g. Commonwealth Games Federation, Pan American Sport Association, World University Games, Special Olympic International), and is awarded through a formal bidding process by the international sport federation or international games federation.

• The hosting organization is committed to provision of ongoing community and provincial level sport, recreation and health promotion benefits, and there are budget provisions incorporated in the event budget to this effect (8% is the suggested benchmark).

• The sport event occurs no more frequently than annually, lasts less than one month and has been held on no more than three consecutive occasions in the same community.
  
• Involves transfer of temporary intellectual property rights between the long-term owner of property and the organization that will be holding the event.
  
• Is an event that is open to the public to attend as spectators.
  

Preconditions

The Government of Ontario recognizes that International competitive processes can take place up to seven years before the event is actually held. The Government of Ontario is prepared to consider requests for pre-commitment to hosting support ahead of the award of an event. This consideration is conditional on:

• An organization winning the right to hold an event.

• The Government of Ontario receiving formal notice of intent to bid at least eighteen months ahead of the proposed bid deadline.
  
• Evidence of ongoing community support and endorsement, and financial support by the involved municipality/ies.
  

Evidence that the event will:

• Meet the Government of Ontario’s sport, recreation and health promotion objectives.
• Be financially viable.
• Be overseen and run by a viable organization.
• Be well planned.
• Maximize utilization of existingsport and urban infrastructure and tourism accommodation.
• Provide community and provincial level benefits.
• Be consistent with community land use and other development plans.

• Conclusion of appropriate agreements with the Province, generally before bids are formally lodged.

Generally, it is the experience of the Government of Ontario that due diligence for an international amateur sport event involves the development of a business plan that covers the case for the event, identifies risks and risk mitigation measures and addresses:

• Organizational status, capability and future capacity.
• Economic impact assessment done with Ministry approved methodology.
• Community and municipal support, including identification of social impacts, plans and mitigation measures.
• A linkage to any local tourism plans, such as a Municipal Tourism Plan, and information on tourism accommodation capacity.
• Previous sport event hosting experience.
• Marketing planning, including international marketing plan and any sponsorship agreements.
• Communications planning and broadcast agreements, including plans for media center.
• An independently verified budget that covers operating and capital budgets, cash flow, revenues and associated sources and costs, and surpluses.
• Sport facility and accommodation planning.
• Transportation and security planning.
• Sport and recreation development legacy planning.
• Protocol and ceremonial planning, including accreditation of Government officials.
• Environmental planning, dealing with environmental impacts, plans and mitigation measures.

Deficit Guarantees, Funding Caps and other Matters

The Government of Ontario is interested in assuring that its resources go to meet a variety of economic and social needs, are appropriately leveraged, and are going to be managed according to sound accountability principles.

Consideration of requests for financial endorsement and support towards hosting of an event will be contingent upon:

• The overall availability of provincial funds and the requirements of provincial approval processes.
  

• The value of benefits such as: projected provincial tax revenues generated by out-of-province tourists attending the sport event, the impact on provincial revenues in general, the sport, recreation, health promotion, tourism and economic development value to the Province, and other related benefits.

In no instance will the Government of Ontario provide a financial contribution to the hosting of an event over a maximum of 35% of total event costs, and in assessing any contribution level, the Government of Ontario will also take into account the level of contributions from other public and private sector partners.

As a matter of course, it should be noted that the Province does not provide financial support for domestic bid preparation.

The Government of Ontario will only consider requests for support from:

• Ontario municipalities, or
  
• Ontario based non-profit organizations that have as their objectives the bidding for and hosting of major internationally awarded sport events, where such organizations have been endorsed by (1) sport organizations eligible under the Provincial Sport Recognition Policy, or the Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events, and (2) the Ontario municipality/ies where the event is going to held.

Finally the Government of Ontario will not assume any deficit guarantees, environmental liability or underwrite other contingent liabilities, such as revenue guarantees, for any event.

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2006 - List of eligible organisations and events under the Ontario International Amateur Sport Hosting Policy
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