February 10, 2012 (Milton, ON) – There has been a lot of drama happening around the proposed velodrome to be built for the 2015 Parapan American Games (TO2015) near Toronto. First the City of Hamilton and then Vaughn showed interest before eventually bowing out. Things looked bleak until Milton’s bid came out of nowhere but there was a lot going on behind the scenes to raise private money and make the dream come true. Central to all of these efforts is a little-known group of Toronto riders who call themselves “Les Domestiques.” Pedal caught up with Tim Hockey, Chief Executive Officer and President of TD Canada Trust at The Toronto-Dominion Bank, the group’s founder and president, to find out more…
Tim Hockey: Cycling is my sport of choice. I’m also very involved in philanthropy efforts such as raising money for the SickKids Research and Learning Tower. Now our club has the opportunity to do something to build cycling infrastructure and leave a legacy for our sport behind.
How close are you to Mattamy Homes president and CEO Peter Gilgan? (Pedal readers will remember that Gilgan is offering to put up $9 million toward the Milton velodrome.)
TH: Peter is one of my best friends and also a founding member of Les Domestiques, a group that I ride with. This all came together in late fall, after it became apparent that the Hamilton velodrome bid was in trouble. People started talking about a temporary velodrome, but we see it as a waste of taxpayers’ money to spend $15 million on a structure that will just get torn down.
We started talking about this at a club Christmas dinner and put together a select group to help the Milton bid and to enable that city to become a Canadian cycling centre. There is a lot of money committed so far and Peter is the largest contributor. Others from Les Domestiques are also helping financially. Gilgan is a big philanthropist and he is very much involved with Milton. Because he has a lot of business there, this is just one of his ways of giving back to the community.
What difference will it make for cycling in Ontario – and Canada – to finally have a modern, indoor, 250m velodrome? Pro cyclists tell me of currently going down to Los Angeles to train at the velodrome there…
TH: This would be the only one on the East Coast and it could become a centerpiece. Look at the Manchester [England] velodrome and how it changed the sport in that country. A velodrome can be a game changer. We’ve only got one chance to do this. If we hadn’t stepped up to help, we knew we would have been kicking ourselves afterward…
TH: It will be great for the city. The Town Council is very forward thinking, as you can see by the 9-2 city council vote in favour. We can build the velodrome into a larger centre for cycling. Milton already has natural infrastructure for cycling; people come to ride on the escarpment. And it is easily accessible from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This facility will put Milton on the global cycling map.
Your organization, Les Domestiques, has set lofty standards in its statement:
“The advocacy role of Les Domestiques is the promotion of cycling for its health, environmental, social and economic benefits. As a group of highly influential business and community leaders we lend a voice to cycling never before heard in Canada. We wish to support the good work done by many clubs, organizations and committees on the municipal, provincial and national level by getting in front of politicians, business leaders and athletics organizations to ensure cycling and all its myriad benefits to Canadians gets the attention it deserves.” Please hint as to what we can expect to hear about next from your group…
TH: Our group has been around for about three years. To date we have raised or donated many tens of millions for good causes so we are well down the philanthropy path. In terms of advocacy, we need to try and figure out where we can best play things. We have also worked with Eleanor McMahon of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, helping her with funding, and are supportive of her organization’s efforts.
How much do you ride a bike annually? And how do you reconcile that with being the President and CEO of TD Canada Trust?
TH: Last year I put in about 9,000km on my bike. I find the time for that by getting up pretty early to train, and I have given up on other pursuits like golf. If I can, I like to commute to work from Port Credit; it’s about 30km and takes me about an hour.
What are next steps for the fundraising?
TH: Now that Milton has approval to proceed, we’re starting the planning for the next leg of our fundraising effort. We’ll be reaching out to the GTA Cycling community to put their efforts and dollars to making the Velodrome a reality. We need everybody’s help to make the dream come true!
Thank you and good luck with your endeavours!
TH: Thanks
For more on Les Domestiques click HERE.
February 11th, 2012 at 11:57 am
First: I’m 110% behind the new Milton Velodrome and there efforts to make it happen,
Congratulations to a job well done,
The revolution of track cycling in Great Britain didn’t happen because they built a Veldorome in Manchester. ( Yes, they did need to begin with a track)
The revolution of GB track cycling is because of the people and quality of the organization behind their program. They now have momentum.
It’s fantastic that we will now have a track. Next we need to strengthen the quality of our program and hire support staff that can aid our track cyclists in becoming medal winners. Like Tara Whitten and Zak Bell.
“If you build it they will come”
Thank you