Olympic Newsdesk -- Pan Am Stadium Decision; Flattering Portrait for Annecy

Pan Am Stadium Saga Resolved

Hamilton will get soccer’s centerpiece venue for the 2015 Pan Ams after all.

"Toronto 2015 is looking forward to working closely with the City of Hamilton and its community partners to help ensure the soccer facility is delivered on time, on budget and on scope," organizing committee CEO Ian Troop said in a statement.

Friday’s decision came on the heels of a Feb. 1 deadline by which the municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Markham submitted plans for 5,000-seat soccer-specific venues to act as contingency plans for a 25,000-capacity complex shared by the city of Hamilton and its Canadian Football League franchise.

Frequent delays and a funding shortfall had forced Troop to look outside Hamilton for bidders, but the $160 million Ivor Wynne stadium will indeed host soccer during the Games and the Tiger-Cats football team after.

African International Sport Convention Announces Speakers

IOC members, NOC leaders and the three 2018 bid cities will be out in full force at the fifth annual African International Sport Convention (CISA).

Organizers confirmed Friday the lineup of speakers for the March 17-19 conference in Marrakech, Morocco.

Among the roughly 40 sports personalities slated to weigh in are IOC vice president Ng Ser Miang, Rio Coordination Commission chair Nawal El Moutawakel and Around the Rings editor Ed Hula.

IAAF vice president Sergei Bubka, International Boxing Association president C.K. Wu and International Triathlon Union president Marisol Casado are also listed as speakers.

According to organizers, all three 2018 bid cities will have a presence in Marrakech, as will the NOCs of South Africa, Libya and, of course, Morocco.

CISA is put on by JAPPO Events and Sports Management consulting in conjunction with Morocco’s sports ministry and NOC.

Annecy Praised as Travel Destination

While Munich is in the spotlight this week among the 2018 Winter Olympic bids with the IOC Evaluation Commission visit, it’s Annecy that receives a flattering portrait by the New York Times on the front page of the Feb. 27 travel section.

A big photo shows the old city of Annecy, its canals lined by ancient stone buildings.

"After a nearly four-hour train journey from Paris, I stepped into the streets of Annecy, which seemed to have sprung from a medieval storybook. Narrow passageways spread out in all directions, lined by stony churches and town houses, some gray and Gothic, some painted in sherbet hues. Canals and waterways, rushing with cold mountain water, cut through the town, which is sometimes called "the Venice of the Alps." From a hilltop in the center, a crenellated fortress known as the Château-Musée lorded over the landscape, backed by snow-covered summits," writes Seth Sherwood.

Along with the charms of the city, Sherwood also mentions the fine foods served in Annecy, especially the cheese.

Along with Annecy, Sherwood writes about Grenoble and Courcheval, mentioning the region’s Olympics heritage, along with the bid from Annecy for 2018.

See the article here.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula.