The Ontario bid for the 2015 PanAm Games is still not final but McMaster is a possible site for a new aquatic facility. The Executive Committee of the Board of Governors has approved McMaster's participation which could now include plans for a new 50-metre pool at the University.

“It's an important opportunity to be a significant partner in the bid for the Games and to support the City as a community partner,” said President Peter George. “It strengthens the bid and the benefits that could come to McMaster and Hamilton but it also gives the University a chance to find a solution to retrofit or replace our existing pool at a fraction of the full cost.” The pool in the Ivor Wynne Centre is 40 years old and requires major work if it's going to be useable in the long-term.

The pool is used by students, the McMaster swim team, members of the McMaster community, children who attend McMaster's summer camps as well as providing space for community swim clubs and teams. The pool can't meet the current demands and is the only 50 metre pool in the city. A new 50 metre pool would be wider and would put McMaster in the running to host national CIS and international competitions.

George said, “Developing Hamilton's bid has been a very dynamic process and McMaster needed to be nimble if we were going to be able to take advantage of the opportunity it brings to access provincial and federal money to build facilities for the Games.”

The City of Hamilton must still vote on whether it will participate in the bid and then the bid will need to go through the extensive selection process run by the PanAm selection committee. If all of those hurdles are passed and Ontario wins the PanAm bid, the details of the aquatic facility at McMaster would still need to be confirmed and approvals received through the normal approval processes at the University.