November 15, 2012 (Milton, ON) – The TO2015 Milton Velodrome was officially announced today in a press conference presentation in Milton, ON. The announcement was made by Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), and by Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament (Halton).

On hand were Greg Mathieu, CEO, Cycling Canada, and riders Sue Palmer Komar, former Canadian national team member and women’s road champ along with London Paralympic gold medalist Robbie Weldon.

Ottawa is helping to pay for the Milton Velodrome, pledging $38.4 million at the news conference today. The 250m indoor velodrome is being built for the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games in Toronto. Pan Am CEO Ian Troop commented, “With this facility, we have designs on being the fastest, most state-of-the-art velodrome on the continent. Not only will this ensure a fantastic field of play for the top cyclists in the Americas and Caribbean coming to compete here in less than a thousand days, it will also put Milton and Canada on the world map of cycling.”

The 154,000 square-foot velodrome will be the only one of its kind in Canada meeting international cycling standards and is expected to operate year-round. Canada currently has seven velodromes, two of which are indoor velodromes, but the two are both small. The Milton Velodrome is now projected to cost some $56 million, up from earlier estimates of $40 million according to The Toronto Star.

In addition to the government funding, the Town of Milton has received a number of private donations from the local cycling community, led by Peter Gilgan.

“We are extremely excited to house this world-class sports and community recreational facility in Milton. The velodrome within the Milton Education Village will help transform this part of the community into a dynamic new neighbourhood,” said Milton Mayor, Gordon Krantz. “We are extremely grateful to the Government of Canada and our community donors, especially Mr. Gilgan who has been a greater supporter of this project from day 1.”

Construction of the Milton Velodrome is slated to begin in February 2013 and be completed by the fall of 2014. Ontario Sports Solutions was awarded the contract in October and consists of Developer: Bouygues Building Canada Inc. / Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. – Design: Cannon Design / Faulkner Browns Architects / Arup Associates – Construction: Bouygues Building Canada Inc. / Kenaidan Contracting Ltd.